1) What Is a Liquidity Sweep?

A liquidity sweep is a brief push beyond obvious highs/lows that triggers stops/entries, taps resting orders, and immediately reclaims the level. On gold, sweeps are common around session opens, HTF levels, and Tier-1 data.

Key tell: a fast wick through equal highs/lows followed by a strong close back inside the prior range.

2) How to Spot: Equal Highs/Lows & Liquidity Pools

• Equal highs/lows (EQH/EQL): multiple touches at ~the same price on M5–H1 attract stops/limit orders.
• HTF confluence: D1/H4 S/R or trendline + EQH/EQL = higher quality sweep zone.
• Imbalance/FVG nearby: post-sweep, price often refills the nearest fair-value gap before continuation.
• Clustered alerts: set level alerts a few points beyond EQH/EQL instead of staring at the chart.

3) Session Timing: London, NY, and News

• London open (07:00–09:00 LDN): frequent sweeps of Asia range highs/lows, then trend.
• NY open (13:30–15:30 LDN): second sweep common; align with NY impulse or fade fakeouts.
• Tier-1 releases: avoid fresh orders from −15 to +3 minutes; the clean retest (+3 to +15) is often the trade.

4) Entry Triggers & Invalidation

• Confirmation close: After the sweep wick, wait for M1–M5 close back through the level in the intended direction.
• Trigger types: break-and-close, engulf through the level, or a decisive rejection with body > wick.
• Entry tactics: limit on small pullback to the reclaimed level; or stop order beyond the confirmation candle.
• Invalidation: if price closes beyond the sweep extreme again (no immediate recapture), idea is invalid.

5) Risk, Stops & Management

• Risk: fixed fractional 0.25–1.0% (use 0.25–0.5% during high vol).
• Stops: beyond the sweep extreme + structural buffer (~0.2–0.3× ATR(14) on entry TF).
• TP1/TP2/Runner: TP1 at +1R or first micro-structure → move to BE; TP2 at HTF level; keep 10–20% runner with swing/ATR trail.
• Daily/weekly caps: 1–2R/day; 4–6R/week; stop after 3 consecutive losses.

6) Playbooks (Bullish & Bearish)

Bullish sweep: Price wicks below EQL into HTF demand → M1/M3 closes back above the level → buy the retest of the reclaimed line; SL under sweep low + buffer; TP1 quick, TP2 next HTF supply; runner trails.

Bearish sweep: Price wicks above EQH into HTF supply → M1/M3 closes back below the level → sell the retest; SL above sweep high + buffer; scale out at structure.

7) Common Mistakes & Fixes

• Entering on the wick: Fix → wait for the confirmation close; avoid knife-catching.
• No buffer on SL: Fix → add ATR/structural buffer; gold can re-probe levels.
• Oversizing: Fix → keep news/sweep risk at the low end (0.25–0.5%).
• Chasing second sweep: Fix → stand down if the retest fails or close flips against you.

Gold is volatile and can gap around news. Demo test first; never risk funds you cannot afford to lose.