Muzyorae - ICT Quarterly Theory (Intraday)

ICT Quarterly Theory — Intraday

What it is
ICT’s Quarterly Theory models the intraday session as repeating cycles of four “quarters.” On NY time, a trading day is split into four macro quarters of 6 hours each:

Q1: 00:00–06:00 NY (Asia / pre-London)

Q2: 06:00–12:00 NY (London–NY overlap, AM session)

Q3: 12:00–18:00 NY (Midday / PM session)

Q4: 18:00–24:00 NY (Asia re-open / late session)

Each macro quarter can be further subdivided into micro quarters of 90 minutes (q1–q4). This fractal view helps traders frame accumulation → expansion → distribution → liquidation phases and align executions with time-of-day liquidity.

Why it matters
Orderflow, liquidity raids, and displacement are highly time-dependent. Marking the quarters makes it easier to:

Anticipate when the market is likely to deliver the day’s expansion (often Q2) versus retracement/distribution (often Q3) or late liquidity runs (often Q4).

Compare today’s behavior to prior days within the same quarter windows.

Anchor bias, entries, and risk management to session-specific highs/lows rather than arbitrary clock times.

What this indicator shows

Macro quarters (6h): Vertical lines and optional labels (Q1–Q4) on NY time.

Micro quarters (90m): Optional finer verticals inside each macro quarter (q1–q4) for precise timing.

True Open (Q2 AM): Optional line at the AM session’s true open (default 06:00 NY) to study premium/discount development from the intraday benchmark.

Futures Sunday handling: Optional treatment of Sunday 18:00 NY as Q4 (useful for FX/futures).

Label controls: Choose above/below placement, offset, size, and colors; micro labels can be toggled independently.

Performance-friendly: De-duplicated labels and a look-back “days to show” setting keep charts clean.

How to use

Timeframe: Works on intraday charts (1–60m). 5–15m is a common balance of signal vs. noise.

Bias framing:

Map Asia (Q1), AM expansion (Q2), midday distribution (Q3), late session runs (Q4).

Compare where the daily range forms versus the True Open to gauge premium/discount and likely continuations.

Execution: Look for standard ICT tools (liquidity sweeps, FVGs, displacement, PD arrays) inside the active quarter to avoid fighting time-of-day flow.

Review: Scroll back multiple days and evaluate where the day’s high/low typically forms relative to Q2–Q3; adapt expectations.

Settings (high level)

Show Macro Labels / Micro Lines / Micro Labels

Label position (above/below), X-shift, colors, sizes

Days to show, de-dup window (prevents label overlaps)

Q2 True Open toggle and extension (doesn't work)

Include Sunday as Q4 (18:00 NY)

Notes

Quarter boundaries are fixed to America/New York session logic to match ICT timing.

This is a context tool; it does not generate buy/sell signals. Combine with your existing execution model.

Past behavior does not guarantee future results. Use proper risk management.