Connix Smart Trading Dashboard
A complete guide to Smart Money Concepts, the Connix indicator, and how to trade with both.
01 What is Smart Money?
Smart Money Concepts (SMC) is a trading methodology based on the idea that large institutional players — banks, hedge funds, and market makers — leave footprints in the market that retail traders can learn to read.
Unlike traditional technical analysis that relies on lagging indicators (RSI, MACD, moving averages), SMC focuses on price action and market structure to understand what institutions are doing right now.
The core principle: Institutions need liquidity to fill their large orders. They engineer price movements to areas where retail traders have placed predictable stop losses, fill their orders at those levels, and then move price in their intended direction. SMC teaches you to trade with institutions, not against them.
Key Concepts at a Glance
| Concept | What It Tells You | Dashboard Column |
|---|---|---|
| Market Structure | Whether the trend is bullish, bearish, or shifting | BoS / CHoCH |
| Order Blocks | Where institutions placed their orders (supply/demand) | OB |
| Fair Value Gaps | Imbalances in price that tend to get filled | FVG |
| Premium / Discount | Whether price is expensive or cheap relative to the range | R(%) |
| VWAP | The average price weighted by volume — institutional benchmark | VWAP |
| Engulfing | Strong momentum shift via candlestick pattern | Eng. |
02 Market Structure
Market structure is the foundation of SMC. Every market creates a sequence of highs and lows. The pattern of these swings tells you the current trend.
Bullish Structure
Price makes Higher Highs (HH) and Higher Lows (HL). Each swing low is higher than the previous one, and each swing high exceeds the prior high.
Bearish Structure
Price makes Lower Highs (LH) and Lower Lows (LL). Each swing high fails to reach the prior high, and each swing low breaks below the previous low.
The ZigZag overlay on the Connix dashboard automatically identifies these swing highs and lows. It draws lines connecting the pivots so you can instantly see the structure. The ZigZag settings (Depth: 12, Deviation: 5, Back Step: 3) determine how significant a swing must be to qualify.
03 Break of Structure & Change of Character
BoS and CHoCH are the two events that define market structure shifts. They are the most important signals in SMC trading.
Break of Structure (BoS)
A BoS occurs when price continues the current trend by breaking a key level:
- Bullish BoS: Price breaks above the most recent swing high → trend continues up
- Bearish BoS: Price breaks below the most recent swing low → trend continues down
A BoS confirms the existing trend. It means institutions are still pushing in the same direction.
Change of Character (CHoCH)
A CHoCH occurs when price breaks against the current trend for the first time:
- Bullish CHoCH: In a downtrend, price breaks above the most recent Lower High → possible reversal to bullish
- Bearish CHoCH: In an uptrend, price breaks below the most recent Higher Low → possible reversal to bearish
A CHoCH is the first warning sign that the trend may be changing. It does not guarantee a reversal — you need confirmation from other factors.
The BoS column shows:
- "BoS" in green = Bullish Break of Structure (buy bias confirmed)
- "BoS" in red = Bearish Break of Structure (sell bias confirmed)
- "CHoCH" in green = Bullish Change of Character (potential reversal to buy)
- "CHoCH" in red = Bearish Change of Character (potential reversal to sell)
- "-" = No recent structure break
When a BoS or CHoCH cell has a yellow background, it means the structure break happened while price was in the Golden Zone (50-61.8% Fibonacci retracement). This is considered the highest-probability setup in ICT methodology — institutional entry at an optimal retracement.
04 Order Blocks (OB)
An Order Block is the last opposing candle before a strong impulsive move. It represents the zone where institutions accumulated their positions before pushing price.
Bullish Order Block
The last bearish (down) candle before a strong bullish move that breaks structure. When price returns to this zone, it often acts as demand — a place to buy.
Bearish Order Block
The last bullish (up) candle before a strong bearish move that breaks structure. When price returns to this zone, it often acts as supply — a place to sell.
Order Block Lifecycle
| Status | Meaning | Dashboard Display |
|---|---|---|
| Active | OB has not been touched yet — waiting for price to return | "-" |
| Touched | Price has reached the OB zone — potential entry | "touch" |
| Broken | Price has closed through the OB — it is invalidated | "broken" |
When enabled, the indicator draws:
- Colored rectangle — the Order Block zone (blue for bullish, red for bearish)
- White horizontal line — the 50% midpoint of the OB (a common precision entry level)
- Arrow — points to the source candle that caused the structure break
- "BoS" or "CHoCH" label — text at the structure break level
05 Fair Value Gaps (FVG)
A Fair Value Gap is a three-candle pattern where the middle candle's body is so large that it leaves a gap between the first candle's wick and the third candle's wick. This gap represents an imbalance in price.
Bullish FVG
Forms during an up-move. The gap is between the high of candle 1 and the low of candle 3. Price tends to return to fill this gap before continuing higher.
Bearish FVG
Forms during a down-move. The gap is between the low of candle 1 and the high of candle 3. Price tends to return to fill this gap before continuing lower.
The FVG column shows:
- "touch" in green = Price is inside a bullish FVG (potential buy zone)
- "touch" in red = Price is inside a bearish FVG (potential sell zone)
- "-" = No FVG interaction
On the chart, FVGs appear as green (bullish) or red (bearish) filled rectangles extending to the current bar.
06 Liquidity & Inducement
Liquidity is where stop-loss orders cluster. Institutions target these pools to fill their large positions. Understanding liquidity is what separates SMC from basic support/resistance trading.
Where Does Liquidity Sit?
- Above swing highs — buy stop orders from retail sellers (stop losses) and breakout buyers
- Below swing lows — sell stop orders from retail buyers (stop losses) and breakout sellers
- Equal highs / equal lows — especially attractive liquidity because many traders place stops at the same level
The Liquidity Sweep
Institutions will push price beyond a key high or low to trigger those stop orders, collect the liquidity, and then reverse. This is why you often see price spike past a level only to immediately reverse — that's a liquidity sweep.
The Highs & Lows overlay and Fractal SnR lines show you exactly where liquidity pools are likely sitting. Session highs/lows (Asian, London, New York) are especially important liquidity targets. The Range % column tells you whether price is near these extremes.
08 Fibonacci & the Golden Zone
The Fibonacci retracement tool is used to measure how far price has pulled back within a trend. In SMC, the most important levels are 0.5 (50%) and 0.618 (61.8%).
Key Fibonacci Levels
| Level | Significance |
|---|---|
| 0% / 100% | The swing extremes — starting and ending points |
| 23.6% | Shallow retracement — strong momentum, less reliable entry |
| 38.2% | Moderate retracement — reasonable entry if structure is very strong |
| 50% | Equilibrium — the sweet spot for institutional entries |
| 61.8% | Deep retracement — the other edge of the Golden Zone |
| 76.4% | Very deep retracement — risky, trend may be weakening |
| -23.6% / -61.8% | Extension levels — potential profit targets beyond the original swing |
The indicator auto-draws Fibonacci on the latest ZigZag swing. Toggle between "Previous" (last completed swing) and "Current" (developing swing). When the BoS column cell turns yellow, it means the structure break happened inside the Golden Zone — the highest-probability setup.
09 VWAP
Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) shows the average price weighted by volume. Institutions use VWAP as a benchmark — they aim to buy below VWAP and sell above VWAP.
How to Use VWAP
- Price above VWAP = Bullish bias. Institutions that bought below VWAP are in profit.
- Price below VWAP = Bearish bias. Institutions that sold above VWAP are in profit.
- Price touching VWAP = Potential reaction point. Look for confluence with OBs, FVGs, or structure levels.
The VWAP column shows "touch" when price is interacting with VWAP, and up/down arrows when price crosses VWAP. On the chart, VWAP appears as a yellow line that resets each session.
10 Trading Sessions
The forex market operates in three major sessions. Each session has distinct characteristics that SMC traders exploit.
| Session | Typical GMT Time | Character | Dashboard Color |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian | 00:00 - 08:00 | Low volatility, range-building. Establishes the day's initial liquidity pool (Asian high and low). | Yellow |
| London | 08:00 - 14:00 | High volatility. Often sweeps Asian session liquidity (breaks Asian high or low) before establishing the real move. | Blue |
| New York | 14:00 - 22:00 | Highest volatility during London-NY overlap (14:00-17:00). Can continue London's move or reverse it. | Pink |
Asian Range Sweep: London session sweeps the Asian session high or low (takes liquidity), triggers a BoS or CHoCH, then reverses. The indicator draws session boxes so you can visually see when this happens. This is one of the most reliable daily setups.
11 Installation
Copy File
Copy the .mq5 file to your MT5 indicators folder: MQL5\Indicators\
Restart MT5
Restart MetaTrader 5 or refresh the Navigator panel
Apply to Chart
Drag the indicator onto any chart from the Navigator
Configure
Adjust input settings to your preferences in the properties dialog
Symbol names must exactly match your broker. If your broker uses "EURUSD.r", "EURUSDm", or "EURUSD.i", you must use that exact name in the symbol list. Check your broker's Market Watch panel for the correct names.
Enable mouse tracking: Right-click the chart → Properties → Common tab → check "Show object properties on mouse click". This is required for the interactive dashboard features (clicking cells, hovering, dragging).
Session times: The default session times are in broker server time, not your local time. Adjust based on your broker's GMT offset.
12 Dashboard Layout
The dashboard is a scrollable grid that gives you a bird's-eye view of all your watched symbols across all configured timeframes.
Interacting with the Dashboard
| Action | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Click a symbol name | Switches the chart to that symbol |
| Click any data cell | Switches the chart to that symbol AND timeframe |
| Hover over a timeframe header | A dropdown appears to change which TF that column shows |
| Click the bell icon (appears on hover) | Toggle alerts on/off for that specific timeframe |
| Drag the header bar | Move the dashboard anywhere on the chart |
| Click ▲ (up arrow) | Collapse dashboard to header only |
| Click ▼ (down arrow) | Expand dashboard back to full size |
| Click ✕ | Remove the indicator from the chart |
13 Reading the Dashboard
Each timeframe group has 6 sub-columns. Here's exactly how to read every cell.
VWAP Column
| Display | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| "touch" | Green | Price wick reached VWAP from below (bullish touch) |
| "touch" | Red | Price wick reached VWAP from above (bearish touch) |
| ▲ (up arrow) | Green | Price crossed above VWAP |
| ▼ (down arrow) | Red | Price crossed below VWAP |
| (blank) | — | No VWAP interaction |
BoS Column
| Display | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| "BoS" | Green | Bullish Break of Structure — trend continues up |
| "BoS" | Red | Bearish Break of Structure — trend continues down |
| "CHoCH" | Green | Bullish Change of Character — potential reversal up |
| "CHoCH" | Red | Bearish Change of Character — potential reversal down |
| Yellow background | — | Golden Zone: BoS/CHoCH happened in the 50-61.8% Fibonacci zone |
| "-" | White | No recent structure break |
OB Column
| Display | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| "touch" | Green | Price is touching a bullish Order Block (buy zone) |
| "touch" | Red | Price is touching a bearish Order Block (sell zone) |
| "broken" | Green | Bullish OB was broken (invalidated) |
| "broken" | Red | Bearish OB was broken (invalidated) |
| "-" | White | No OB interaction |
FVG Column
| Display | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| "touch" | Green | Price is inside a bullish Fair Value Gap |
| "touch" | Red | Price is inside a bearish Fair Value Gap |
| "-" | White | No FVG interaction |
R(%) Column — Range Percentage
| Value | Color | Zone | Bias |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 - 30% | Green | Deep Discount | Strong buy area |
| 30 - 50% | Green | Discount | Buy area |
| 50% | — | Equilibrium | Neutral |
| 50 - 70% | Red | Premium | Sell area |
| 70 - 100% | Red | Deep Premium | Strong sell area |
Eng. Column — Engulfing
| Display | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ● (symbol) | Green | Bullish engulfing pattern (current bar engulfs previous bearish bar) |
| ● (symbol) | Red | Bearish engulfing pattern (current bar engulfs previous bullish bar) |
| (blank) | — | No engulfing pattern |
Daily Range & ADR Columns
| Column | Shows | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Daily Range | Today's High - Low in pips | Compare to ADR: if Daily Range nears ADR, the day's move may be exhausted |
| ADR | Average Daily Range (15-day default) in pips | Tells you the normal daily move. Useful for setting targets and filtering late entries |
14 Chart Overlays
These visual elements are drawn directly on your price chart. Toggle each one from the Button Panel.
| Overlay | What It Draws | How to Use It |
|---|---|---|
| ZigZag | Lines connecting swing highs and lows | See the market structure at a glance. Identify HH, HL, LH, LL patterns. |
| OBs, BoS/CHoCH | Order Block rectangles, BoS/CHoCH labels and trendlines, source arrows, OB midpoint lines | Identify entry zones (OBs) and structure breaks. The midpoint (white line) is a precision entry level. |
| FVGs | Colored rectangles for open Fair Value Gaps | Identify imbalances where price may return. Green = bullish, Red = bearish. |
| VWAP | Yellow line (session-anchored) | Institutional benchmark. Price above = bullish, below = bearish. Touches are reaction points. |
| Asian Box / Sessions | Colored rectangles for Asian, London, New York session ranges | Identify session highs/lows as liquidity targets. Watch for sweeps at session open. |
| Highs & Lows | Trendlines extending from session highs and lows | Key levels that act as liquidity pools. |
| Fractal SnR | Horizontal lines at fractal highs/lows from all timeframes | Multi-timeframe support/resistance. Higher TF levels are stronger. |
| Fibonacci | Auto Fibonacci retracement on the latest ZigZag swing | Identify the Golden Zone (50-61.8%). Toggle Previous vs Current swing. |
| Range (Premium/Discount) | Horizontal lines at 100% (Premium), 50% (Equilibrium), 0% (Discount) | Visual guide for where to buy (discount) and sell (premium). |
16 Drawing Tools
The drawing panel provides 4 color slots, each with 4 tools. Use these for manual markup.
| Tool | Usage |
|---|---|
| Filled Rectangle | Click button → click and drag on chart. Good for marking supply/demand zones. |
| Unfilled Rectangle | Click button → click and drag. Good for highlighting areas without obscuring price. |
| Horizontal Line | Click button → click on chart at the price level. Good for marking key levels. |
| Trendline | Click button → click start point, drag to end point. Good for drawing structure lines. |
After placing a drawing, the tool auto-deactivates. Use the Delete button to clear all manual drawings.
17 All Settings Reference
Complete reference of every configurable input parameter.
Display Settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Level width dashboard | 40 | Cell width in pixels |
| Level height dashboard | 20 | Cell height in pixels |
| Font size | 8 | Dashboard text size |
| List of Timeframes | M15,H1,H4,D1 | Comma-separated TFs shown as column groups |
| Bars look back | 500 | How many bars to analyze per symbol/TF |
Symbol Settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Symbols list 1 | AUDCAD,...,XAUUSD (29 pairs) | First symbol list (max 255 chars) |
| Symbols list 2 | (empty) | Additional symbols |
| Symbols list 3 | (empty) | Additional symbols |
ZigZag Settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Depth | 12 | Minimum bars between swings |
| Deviation | 5 | Minimum point deviation for a new swing |
| Back Step | 3 | Minimum bars between adjacent highs/lows |
| Color line | Red | ZigZag line color |
| Width line | 1 | ZigZag line thickness |
BoS/CHoCH Settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Buy Color | Blue | Bullish structure color |
| Sell Color | Red | Bearish structure color |
FVG Settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bullish Color | Green | Bullish FVG rectangle color |
| Bearish Color | Red | Bearish FVG rectangle color |
VWAP Settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Volume applied | Tick Volume | Volume source for VWAP calculation |
| Price | Typical (HLC/3) | Price type used |
| Color line | Yellow | VWAP line color |
Session Settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Asian Color / Start / End | Yellow / 00:00 / 08:00 | Asian session box (broker server time) |
| London Color / Start / End | Blue / 09:00 / 14:00 | London session box |
| NewYork Color / Start / End | Pink / 15:00 / 22:00 | New York session box |
Engulfing Settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Min ratio (%) | 120 | Engulfing bar must be at least 120% the size of the previous bar |
ADR Settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ADR period | 15 | Number of days for the average |
Fractal SnR Colors
| Timeframe | Default Color |
|---|---|
| M1 | Red |
| M5 | Blue |
| M15 | Pink |
| M30 | Orange |
| H1 | Chocolate |
| H4 | Yellow |
| D1 | Dark Khaki |
| W1 | Cyan |
| MN1 | Bisque |
18 Alert System
The indicator can notify you when key events happen so you don't have to watch the screen constantly.
Alert Types
| Alert | Triggers When | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| BoS/CHoCH | A new Break of Structure or Change of Character forms | The trend has confirmed or potentially reversed |
| OB Touch/Broken | Price reaches or invalidates an Order Block | Potential entry (touch) or invalidation (broken) |
| FVG Touch | Price enters an open Fair Value Gap | Imbalance being filled — potential reaction |
| Golden Zone | BoS/CHoCH occurs while price is at 50-61.8% Fibonacci | Highest-probability SMC setup |
| Engulfing | Bullish or bearish engulfing pattern detected | Strong momentum shift |
| VWAP | Price touches or crosses VWAP | Institutional benchmark reaction |
Delivery Methods
| Method | Default | Setup Required |
|---|---|---|
| Popup Message | ON | None |
| Push Notification | OFF | MT5 → Tools → Options → Notifications → enter your MetaQuotes ID |
| OFF | MT5 → Tools → Options → Email → configure SMTP | |
| Sound | OFF | Place .wav file in MT5's Sounds folder |
Per-Timeframe Alert Control
Hover over any timeframe column header in the dashboard. A small bell icon appears. Click it to toggle alerts for that specific timeframe. This lets you, for example, only receive H4 and D1 alerts while ignoring M15 noise.
19 Special Alerts: HTF-LTF Confluence
This is the most powerful alert feature. It detects when a lower-timeframe Order Block forms inside a higher-timeframe Order Block — a key institutional confluence.
How It Works
HTF Order Block
A higher-TF OB exists (e.g., H4 bullish OB)
Price Enters HTF OB
Price pulls back into the H4 Order Block zone
LTF OB Forms Inside
An M15 Order Block forms within the bottom 50% of the H4 OB
Alert Fires
Special alert triggers — high-probability entry!
Default HTF Mapping
| Lower Timeframe | Higher Timeframe Reference |
|---|---|
| M1 | M5 |
| M5 | M15 |
| M15 | M30 |
| M30 | H1 |
| H1 | H4 |
| H4 | D1 |
| D1 | W1 |
| W1 | MN1 |
The "LTF OB within range" setting (default 50%) controls how strict the detection is. At 50%, the LTF OB must form within the top or bottom half of the HTF OB. Lower values = stricter (LTF OB must be very close to the HTF OB edge). Higher values = more permissive.
This is like getting a sniper entry signal. The H4 OB tells you the institutional level. The M15 OB forming inside it tells you institutions are actively defending that level right now. It's multi-timeframe confirmation automated into a single alert.
20 Trading Workflow
Here's the step-by-step process for using the Connix dashboard to find and execute trades.
Scan
Open the dashboard. Look across all symbols for confluence (multiple green or red signals in a row).
Filter
Check R(%): Is price in discount (<50%) for buys or premium (>50%) for sells? Check ADR: Has the day's range already been exhausted?
Drill Down
Click the cell to switch to that pair/TF. Enable chart overlays (OBs, FVGs, Fibonacci) to see the setup visually.
Confirm & Enter
Wait for LTF confirmation (engulfing, LTF BoS, OB touch). Place your trade with proper risk management.
What to Look for on the Dashboard
BoS = green "BoS" (bullish trend confirmed)
OB = green "touch" (price is at a demand zone)
FVG = green "touch" (price is filling a bullish imbalance)
R(%) = below 50% (price is in discount)
VWAP = green "touch" (price is at institutional benchmark)
Eng. = green dot (bullish momentum confirmation)
BoS = red "BoS" (bearish trend confirmed)
OB = red "touch" (price is at a supply zone)
FVG = red "touch" (price is filling a bearish imbalance)
R(%) = above 50% (price is in premium)
VWAP = red "touch" (price rejected from VWAP)
Eng. = red dot (bearish momentum confirmation)
21 Strategy 1: Golden Zone Entry
The highest-probability setup. Trade BoS/CHoCH signals that occur in the Fibonacci Golden Zone (50-61.8%).
- Identify: On the dashboard, find a symbol/timeframe where the BoS cell shows "BoS" or "CHoCH" in green with a yellow background.
- Confirm range: Check the R(%) column — it should be below 50% (discount zone).
- Drill down: Click the cell to switch to that chart. Enable Fibonacci and OBs overlays.
- Entry: Look for price to touch the Order Block or the 50-61.8% Fibonacci zone. Enter buy at the OB midpoint (white line) or on an engulfing candle.
- Stop Loss: Below the Order Block low (the bottom of the OB rectangle).
- Take Profit: The previous swing high (100% Fibonacci), or the -23.6% / -61.8% extension levels for extended targets.
- Identify: Find a symbol/timeframe where the BoS cell shows "BoS" or "CHoCH" in red with a yellow background.
- Confirm range: R(%) should be above 50% (premium zone).
- Drill down: Switch to the chart. Enable overlays.
- Entry: Price touching the bearish OB or the 50-61.8% zone. Sell at OB midpoint or on bearish engulfing.
- Stop Loss: Above the Order Block high.
- Take Profit: Previous swing low or Fibonacci extension levels.
22 Strategy 2: Order Block + FVG Confluence
When an Order Block and a Fair Value Gap overlap at the same price level, it creates a high-confluence zone.
- Dashboard scan: Find a pair where both the OB column shows green "touch" AND the FVG column shows green "touch" on the same timeframe.
- Confirm: R(%) is below 50%. Bonus: BoS column shows green "BoS" (trend is confirmed bullish).
- Visual check: Switch to chart and verify the OB rectangle and FVG rectangle overlap.
- Entry: Enter buy within the overlapping zone. Best entry is the OB midpoint inside the FVG.
- Stop Loss: Below the lower edge of both the OB and FVG (whichever is lower).
- Take Profit: The recent swing high, or the opposing Order Block on the same timeframe.
If VWAP is also near the OB + FVG zone ("touch" in the VWAP column), this is a triple confluence entry — one of the strongest possible setups.
23 Strategy 3: Session Reversal
Trade the London session sweep of Asian session liquidity — one of the most consistent daily setups.
- Setup: Enable the Asian Box overlay. Wait for London session to open.
- Trigger: London session sweeps below the Asian session low (takes out stop losses below the yellow box).
- Confirm: After the sweep, look for a bullish CHoCH on M15 or M5 (the dashboard will show it). This means the sweep has ended and price is reversing.
- Entry: Enter buy on the first bullish OB that forms after the CHoCH, or on an FVG fill after the reversal.
- Stop Loss: Below the sweep low (the lowest point of the London dip below Asia's range).
- Take Profit: The Asian session high, then the previous day's high.
- Trigger: London session breaks above the Asian session high.
- Confirm: Bearish CHoCH on M15 or M5.
- Entry: Sell on the first bearish OB after the CHoCH.
- Stop Loss: Above the sweep high.
- Take Profit: Asian session low, then previous day's low.
24 Strategy 4: HTF-LTF Sniper Entry
Use the Special Alert to get precision entries at institutional levels. This is the most advanced strategy.
- Higher TF bias: On H4 or D1, identify a bullish trend (BoS confirmed, bullish structure). There should be an active bullish Order Block on the HTF.
- Wait for pullback: Price pulls back toward the H4/D1 Order Block. R(%) on the HTF should be approaching discount (below 50%).
- Special Alert fires: The indicator alerts that an M15 (or M5) bullish Order Block has formed inside the bottom 50% of the H4 Order Block.
- Entry: Enter buy at the M15 OB zone. This is your "sniper" entry — LTF precision within an HTF institutional level.
- Stop Loss: Below the M15 OB (tight stop since your entry is precise).
- Take Profit: The HTF swing high. Because your stop is small (LTF OB) and your target is large (HTF swing), you can achieve 3:1, 5:1, or even 10:1 risk/reward.
The H4 Order Block tells you where institutions will buy. The M15 Order Block forming inside it tells you when they are buying. You're entering at the same time and place as institutional money, with a tight stop loss and a large target.
25 Risk Management
No indicator eliminates risk. Proper money management is what keeps you in the game long enough for your edge to play out.
Core Rules
| Rule | Guideline |
|---|---|
| Risk per trade | Never risk more than 1-2% of your account on a single trade |
| Minimum R:R | Only take trades with at least 2:1 reward-to-risk ratio |
| Stop loss placement | Always place stops beyond a structural level (below OB for buys, above OB for sells) |
| ADR filter | If Daily Range is already > 80% of ADR, avoid new entries in the same direction — the day's move may be exhausted |
| Session timing | Best entries during London open (08:00-10:00 GMT) and NY open (13:00-15:00 GMT) |
| Correlation | Avoid taking the same trade on correlated pairs (e.g., long EURUSD and long GBPUSD = doubled risk) |
Using ADR for Targets
The ADR column tells you the average daily range. Use this to set realistic targets:
- If ADR is 80 pips and the day has already moved 60 pips, there may only be ~20 pips left
- If the day has barely moved relative to ADR, there's room for a larger move
- Set take profit at levels that are within the remaining ADR potential
26 Pre-Trade Checklist
Run through this checklist before every trade.
- HTF Bias: Is the higher timeframe trend clear? (D1/H4 showing BoS in my direction)
- Structure: Is there a valid BoS or CHoCH on my entry timeframe?
- Zone: Is price at a valid entry zone? (Order Block, FVG, or VWAP)
- Premium/Discount: Am I buying in discount (R% < 50) or selling in premium (R% > 50)?
- Golden Zone: Is the BoS cell highlighted yellow? (bonus, not required)
- Confluence: Do I have at least 2 confirming signals? (OB + FVG, OB + VWAP, BoS + Engulfing, etc.)
- ADR Check: Is there enough remaining daily range for my target?
- Session Timing: Am I entering during an active session? (London or NY, not late Asian)
- Risk: Is my risk 1-2% max? Is my R:R at least 2:1?
- Correlation: Am I doubling exposure on correlated pairs?
- Stop Placement: Is my stop beyond the structural level (below/above the OB)?
27 Tips & Best Practices
Performance Optimization
- Reduce the symbol list if you experience lag. 15-20 pairs is usually plenty.
- Lower "bars look back" from 500 to 200-300 for faster calculations.
- Use fewer timeframe columns (e.g., H1 and H4 only) if you don't need M15 and D1.
- Close other indicators — the dashboard already includes VWAP, ZigZag, and Fibonacci, so you can remove standalone versions.
Session Time Configuration
The session times are in broker server time. To find your broker's offset:
- In MT5, open the Market Watch panel
- Look at the time displayed — that's server time
- Compare to GMT: if server shows 15:00 when it's 13:00 GMT, your broker is GMT+2
- Adjust session times accordingly (e.g., Asia starts at 02:00 instead of 00:00 for a GMT+2 broker)
Best Timeframe Combinations
| Trading Style | Recommended TFs | HTF Bias | Entry TF |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scalping | M1, M5, M15 | M15 or M30 | M1 or M5 |
| Day Trading | M15, H1, H4 | H4 or D1 | M15 or H1 |
| Swing Trading | H1, H4, D1 | D1 or W1 | H1 or H4 |
| Position Trading | H4, D1, W1 | W1 or MN1 | D1 |
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Trading against the HTF trend. If D1 is bearish, don't take M15 buy signals — they're counter-trend.
- Entering without confluence. A single signal (just OB touch, or just BoS) is not enough. Wait for 2+ confirming factors.
- Ignoring ADR. If the daily range is nearly exhausted, new entries are low-probability.
- Over-trading correlated pairs. EURUSD and GBPUSD often move together — taking the same trade on both doubles your risk.
- Moving stop losses. Once placed beyond the structural level, leave it alone. If the OB is broken, the trade idea is invalidated.
- Trading during news events. Major news releases (NFP, CPI, FOMC) create erratic price action that can invalidate SMC structures. Avoid entries 30 minutes before and after high-impact news.
Quick Reference — Color Coding
Connix Smart Trading Dashboard v7 — User & Trading Guide
Created March 2026