ICT Silver Bullet Strategy: How It Works and How to Confirm the Entry

The ICT Silver Bullet is one of the most-searched strategies in the ICT ecosystem — and one of the most misunderstood. Traders often describe it as a 'pattern,' something you see on the chart and identify. It is not. It is a process applied during specific time windows when institutional order flow is highly predictable. Understanding that distinction is the difference between having a repeatable strategy and endlessly searching for a setup that looks like a particular chart shape.

This guide covers the Silver Bullet in full: the two time windows, the setup sequence, how the FVG is formed and used, and where CISD fits as the entry confirmation that separates disciplined execution from hoping the FVG holds.

What Is the ICT Silver Bullet?

The ICT Silver Bullet is a time-based strategy built around two daily windows during which institutional delivery sequences tend to produce clean, tradeable moves. The strategy exploits the predictable behavior of market makers during specific session transitions: they sweep nearby liquidity, create a directional displacement, and leave an imbalance (FVG) that price returns to before continuing in the displacement direction.

This sequence — sweep, displace, retrace into FVG, continue — is the core mechanical pattern of ICT trading. The Silver Bullet is simply applying this framework within a defined time window where the signal quality is statistically highest.

The Two Silver Bullet Windows

The Silver Bullet uses two primary time windows:

• →London Silver Bullet: 3:00–4:00 AM EST — occurs during the London session after the initial liquidity grab at the 2:00 AM open. The 3:00–4:00 window is when the market often sets a key daily high or low.
• →New York Silver Bullet: 10:00–11:00 AM EST — occurs after the chaotic NY Open period (9:30–10:00 AM EST) has cleared. By 10:00 AM, the NY direction is established and the Silver Bullet window produces continuation or reversal sequences with high clarity.
• →Secondary London window: 2:00–3:00 AM EST — used by some traders as an extended London entry window, though the 3:00–4:00 AM window is more widely cited.

The Silver Bullet Setup: Step by Step

The Silver Bullet setup follows a four-step sequence within the active window:

1. 1.Identify the HTF bias before the window opens. Is the daily chart bullish or bearish? What is the 4H structure? You are looking for a LTF Silver Bullet entry in the direction of HTF bias — this is not a counter-trend strategy.
2. 2.Wait for a liquidity sweep within the window. This is price taking out a recent swing high or low, equal highs/lows, or a prior session extreme. On the 1m or 5m chart, you will see a wick through the level followed by a rapid reversal.
3. 3.Identify the FVG created by the displacement. The displacement candle following the sweep creates a 3-candle imbalance. Mark the FVG between candle 1's high and candle 3's low (for bullish) or candle 1's low and candle 3's high (for bearish).
4. 4.Wait for price to retrace into the FVG and look for CISD confirmation. When price returns to the FVG, watch for the structural break (CISD) that confirms the original displacement direction is resuming. Enter on the CISD candle close.

A Concrete Silver Bullet Example

NY Silver Bullet — bullish setup example:

Daily bias is bullish (price trading in daily discount, HTF structure pointing higher). At 9:30 AM EST open, price spikes down, sweeping equal lows from the previous day's session. The NY Open volatility clears. By 10:00 AM, the Silver Bullet window opens.

Within the 10:00–11:00 AM window: price sweeps the Globex session low at 10:08 AM. A sharp bullish displacement follows — a 3-candle sequence with a strong middle candle moving up rapidly. The FVG from this displacement sits between the high of the first candle and the low of the third candle.

Price retraces back into the FVG at 10:22 AM. Within the FVG, price makes a short-term low, then breaks that short-term low structure to the upside — the CISD. Entry on the CISD candle close inside the FVG. Stop below the sweep low at 10:08. Target: equal highs above from the overnight session.

Where CISD Fits: Confirming the Silver Bullet Entry

In the basic Silver Bullet framework, the entry is on the FVG touch — when price retraces into the imbalance. This still has sweep risk. Price can wick into the FVG, take out early longs placed there, then continue lower before making the actual reversal. ICT traders who have experienced this know it as the 'FVG wick-out' that happens even on valid setups.

CISD confirmation eliminates this risk. Instead of entering at the FVG touch, you wait for price to show structural displacement within or at the FVG — a CISD candle that breaks the most recent structure in the direction of the Silver Bullet's intended move. This is a displacement event inside the FVG, confirming that the institutional retracement has ended and the next leg is beginning.

Using SMC X for Silver Bullet Setups

SMC X's sweep detection and CISD signal mapping work directly with the Silver Bullet sequence. You do not need to watch the chart through the entire window — set TradingView alerts using SMC X during the two Silver Bullet windows and the indicator will fire when the sweep occurs and again when the CISD entry signal confirms.

The practical workflow: mark the HTF bias before the window. Set alerts on SMC X for the relevant instrument during the 3:00–4:00 AM or 10:00–11:00 AM window. When the sweep alert fires, begin monitoring for the FVG formation. When the CISD signal fires inside or at the FVG, enter on the close. Stop below the sweep low. Target the next HTF liquidity draw.

Silver Bullet Common Mistakes

• →Taking Silver Bullet setups outside the defined windows: a sweep + FVG sequence at 1:00 PM EST is not a Silver Bullet. The windows matter.
• →Trading against the HTF bias: a bearish Silver Bullet against a bullish daily structure is a counter-trend trade, not a Silver Bullet. HTF alignment is required.
• →Entering at the FVG touch without CISD: the sweep risk is real. Wait for the structural confirmation inside the FVG.
• →Using the wrong timeframe for the FVG: Silver Bullet FVGs are typically on 1m or 5m charts. Looking for the FVG on the 15m misses the intra-window structure.
• →Expecting a Silver Bullet every day: some days the window does not deliver a clean sweep and FVG sequence. No setup is better than a forced entry.

Frequently Asked Questions