SMC Setup 1 runs on MT4 and MT5 and looks for one arrangement of swing points, then checks whether the order blocks left by two different legs of that arrangement land on the same prices.
If they don't overlap, nothing is drawn. That single condition is what separates this from an order block indicator, and it's why the chart stays almost empty.
The sequence it wants
Structure is labelled first: every swing point gets an HH, HL, LH or LL from a five-bar pivot. Then the last seven labels have to read, oldest to newest:
HH→HL→HH→HL→LH→LL→HH
That's an uptrend that stopped making highs, made a lower high, then a lower low — the shape everybody reads as a top — and then reclaimed with a fresh higher high. The bearish version is the exact mirror.
Two price rules sit on top of the labels:
- The new high has to be below the earlier one four pivots back. The reclaim isn't a runaway break; it's a recovery that still hasn't beaten the old extreme.
- The lower low has to be above the earlier higher low. Read that twice, because it's the crux. The move that made a "lower low" never actually reached the first pullback's low, which means the demand that produced the first leg was never traded through.
That second rule is what makes the two blocks capable of overlapping at all.
The two blocks
With the sequence confirmed, the tool walks back up to three bars from each of two pivots looking for the last opposite-colour candle.
OB 1 comes from the older leg. OB 2 comes from the recent one. Both are drawn as labelled boxes, extended right to the current bar.
Then the last gate: OB 2's low has to sit inside or below OB 1's high for a bullish setup. Two blocks from two separate legs, occupying the same prices. If they miss each other, the setup is discarded even though every structural condition passed.
Then it waits
The setup being drawn is not the signal. A dotted box is projected forward from OB 2 and the tool watches for price to come back into it.
The touch condition is specific: for a long, the bar's low has to enter the zone while both its open and its close stay above the zone's bottom. Price reached in and didn't settle below. That fires a second alert, Buy signal - Price touch bullish box, marks the bar with an arrow, and switches the box to a dotted outline so you can see at a glance that this one has already been used.
The zone stops being tracked when a close goes through the wrong side of it.
| Ordinary order block tool | This | |
|---|---|---|
| Blocks marked | All of them | Only two, and only if they overlap |
| Structure requirement | A break of structure | An exact seven-label sequence plus two price rules |
| Signals | On block creation | On creation and on the return to the zone |
| Used zones | Look identical | Switch to a dotted outline |
| Repeats | Per block | One setup per structure, enforced |
What it draws, and what it doesn't
Two labelled boxes, a Bullish(5) or Bearish(5) text at the trigger bar, the forward-projected zone, and an arrow at the touch. Optionally the raw HH/HL/LH/LL pivot labels, which are off by default and worth turning on once while you learn what the tool is matching.
No indicator buffers, so iCustom gets you nothing. No dashboard, no risk-reward boxes, no higher-timeframe read. Structure is measured on the chart timeframe only.
Where it's weak
Only one live zone per direction. The forward-projected box is a single object per side, so a new bullish setup replaces the previous one even if price never came back to it. Older setups stay drawn as static boxes but stop being watched, and you won't get a touch alert for them.
The block search stops at three bars. If the last opposite-colour candle before the leg is four bars back, no block is found and the whole setup is dropped silently.
A five-bar pivot is short. Pivot Period at 5 finds a lot of structure on H1 and finds structure inside noise on M5. It's the first setting to raise on fast charts, and raising it changes the sequence the tool sees, not just the sensitivity.
Structure confirms late. A pivot needs bars to its right, so the seventh label lands several candles after the swing that made it. The setup is correct; it isn't early.
It's rare. Seven exact labels, two price rules and an overlap test. On many symbols you'll see a handful of these a month. An empty chart is the normal state.
Questions you'll have
Does SMC Setup 1 repaint? No. Everything is evaluated on closed bars behind a new-bar check. A drawn setup stays where it was drawn; the projected zone extends its right edge while it's live, which is the zone still being watched.
Why is my chart empty? Because the overlap test failed, or the sequence never matched. Turn on Show pivot when signal and raise Pivot Period to see what structure the tool is actually reading.
What's the difference between OB 1 and OB 2? OB 1 comes from the older leg of the sequence, OB 2 from the most recent one. OB 2 is the zone that gets projected forward and watched.
Why did the box turn dotted? Price touched it and the entry alert fired. Dotted means used.
Why didn't I get a touch alert on an older setup? Only the newest setup per direction is tracked forward. Older boxes remain drawn but are no longer watched.
Can an EA read the zones? No. There are no indicator buffers; everything is a chart object. Use the terminal, email or Telegram alerts.
Best timeframe? H1 and H4 at the default pivot period. On M15 and below raise Pivot Period first.
MT4? Both platforms are included, one download each. Same sequence, same overlap test, same two-stage alerts.
Support
Message me through the site with a screenshot, the symbol and the timeframe, and I can tell you which of the conditions a candidate failed. Updates are included for as long as your subscription runs.
Analysis tool. It places no trades and makes no profitability claim. Past price behaviour is not a guide to future price behaviour.