Trading and Crypto

Trading Entries: How to Time Your Way Into a Trade With the ICC Approach

How I Find My Trading Entries | Trading Course 003

Video: How I Find My Trading Entries | Trading Course 003

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· based on the channel SCI

Trading entries are found by marking up a chart first, waiting for a three-phase structure (Indication, Correction, Continuation), and only then executing on a confirmation signal rather than a prediction. In practice, that means the entry is the last decision you make, not the first: structure, level and risk come before the click. The framework below is the one SCI breaks down in the third instalment of his trading course, and the same logic applies whether you trade XAUUSD, forex majors or indices.

For live trade examples and the community around this approach, SCI points traders to his Instagram at Trades By Sci on Instagram, where setups and daily activity are posted.

Why most traders get entries backwards

Most losing entries come from looking for a signal before the chart has told a story. A trader opens a 5-minute chart, sees a big candle, and buys the breakout — then watches price retrace through the entry and stop them out. The problem is not the indicator or the timeframe; it is the sequence. Entries only make sense inside a structure that already explains where price came from and where it is likely to go.

The practical fix is to reverse your workflow:

  1. Mark up the higher timeframe first and identify the direction the market is delivering.
  2. Drop to your execution timeframe and wait for a three-phase sequence to build.
  3. Define the level where the correction should end before price gets there.
  4. Only then look for a trigger to enter.

That order is what separates a trader who reacts to price from one who waits for it. It also explains a common observation in the comments under SCI's videos: entry timing looks simple until you actually start trading, because the hard part is patience, not pattern recognition.

The ICC model in plain terms

ICC is a three-part structure: Indication, Correction, Continuation. The Indication is the initial impulse — a strong, directional move that shows intent. The Correction is the pullback against that move, where the market takes a breath and traps late chasers. The Continuation is the resumption of the original direction, and it is the phase you want to be positioned for.

Each phase has a job:

  • Indication: tells you which side of the market is in control and where the move started.
  • Correction: gives you a defined area — usually a supply or demand zone, an order block, or a retest of a broken level — where the entry can be planned.
  • Continuation: confirms the idea and provides the expansion that pays for the risk.

The key insight is that the Correction is the entry zone, not the Indication. Buying the initial impulse means buying at the worst price with the widest stop. Waiting for the pullback means entering closer to the level where the market has already shown it wants to defend a price.

How to mark up a chart before you look for an entry

Markup is the preparation that makes entries mechanical. Before any session, mark the levels that matter and leave the chart alone until price arrives at one of them.

A workable markup routine:

  1. Identify the most recent significant swing high and swing low on your higher timeframe.
  2. Mark the zones where price reacted strongly — the origin of the impulse and the level it broke through.
  3. Note the session highs and lows for the pairs you trade, especially on XAUUSD where volatility clusters around the London and New York opens.
  4. Write down the level you would accept as an entry and the level that would invalidate the idea.

Once the markup is done, the entry becomes a question of whether price behaves correctly at a level you already chose, rather than a decision you make in real time under pressure. Traders who keep a written markup often find that half of their bad entries were trades taken at levels that were never on the plan.

Confirmation: the difference between a guess and a trade

Confirmation is the trigger that turns a level into an entry. Without it, you are guessing that price will reverse; with it, you are responding to evidence that it already has.

Common confirmation signals inside an ICC correction:

  • A shift in market structure on the execution timeframe — a break of the most recent minor high or low in the direction of the intended trade.
  • A reaction candle at the zone: a rejection wick, an engulfing close, or a strong close back out of the level.
  • A lower-timeframe ICC repeating inside the higher-timeframe correction, which is often the cleanest entry of the day.

The trade-off is straightforward. Waiting for confirmation costs you a few pips of the move but removes a large share of premature entries. Traders who skip confirmation usually describe the same experience: they were right about direction and still lost money, because they entered before the market had finished correcting.

Entry timing, stop placement and risk

An entry is only as good as the stop that comes with it. The stop belongs at the level that invalidates the idea — typically beyond the zone or the swing that created the correction — and the position size is calculated from that distance, not from a fixed lot size.

A simple process:

  1. Place the stop where the structure breaks, not at an arbitrary number of pips.
  2. Measure the distance from entry to stop.
  3. Size the position so that distance equals a fixed percentage of the account, commonly 0.5% to 1% per trade.
  4. Set the first target at the previous impulse extreme and trail the remainder if the continuation extends.

This is where the comments around SCI's course get honest: several traders describe having a working method and still giving back gains because of poor risk management and emotional decisions. The method does not protect you from oversized positions; only the risk rule does. A good entry with a reckless size is still a bad trade.

Common questions traders ask about entries

A few themes come up repeatedly in the community around this material, and they are worth addressing directly.

"I understand the concept but my entries still feel random." Understanding and execution are different skills. If your entries feel random, it usually means the markup is missing — you are reacting to candles instead of waiting at pre-defined levels. Fix the preparation before you touch the trigger.

"How many setups should I take per session?" Fewer than you think. One clean ICC continuation on a major pair or on XAUUSD is often enough for a day. Overtrading usually appears when a trader has no marked levels and therefore treats every candle as an opportunity.

"What if price never corrects into my zone?" Then there is no trade, and that is a valid outcome. Chasing price above the zone converts a planned entry into an emotional one, with a worse stop and a worse reward-to-risk ratio.

"Does this work on any timeframe?" The structure repeats on all timeframes, but the quality of the levels depends on the timeframe you mark up. Lower timeframes give more signals and more noise; higher timeframes give fewer, cleaner entries that require more patience.

SCI shares the following resources alongside the course:

Final thoughts on finding trading entries

Finding entries is a process of elimination: mark up the chart, wait for the three ICC phases to complete, and only act when the correction reaches a level you already chose and confirmation appears. The traders who struggle most are usually not missing information — they are entering before the structure is ready, or sizing positions as if the entry were guaranteed. Treat the entry as the final step of a plan rather than the start of a hunch, and the quality of your trades improves without changing a single indicator. This breakdown comes from SCI's trading course, and the full series — including the Instagram account at Trades By Sci — is where the approach is documented step by step.

Key takeaways

  • Entries are the last step of a setup, not the first: markup comes before execution.
  • ICC stands for three phases: Indication, Correction, Continuation.
  • The Correction is where the entry is built; the Continuation is where it pays.
  • Confirmation beats prediction: waiting for a shift in structure filters out premature entries.
  • Risk per trade is defined before entry, so timing mistakes stay small and survivable.
  • XAUUSD and forex majors give the cleanest ICC structures on lower timeframes.

Questions & answers

What does ICC mean in trading?

ICC stands for Indication, Correction, Continuation. The Indication is the initial impulse that shows direction, the Correction is the pullback where the entry zone is built, and the Continuation is the resumption of the move that pays for the risk. The entry is taken during or at the end of the correction, not during the initial impulse.

How do I know when to enter a trade instead of waiting forever?

You enter when two conditions are met: price reaches a level you marked in advance, and the execution timeframe shows a confirmation, such as a shift in market structure or a rejection candle at that level. If neither appears, there is no trade. Waiting is a position, and skipping a setup costs nothing.

Why do I keep losing money even when my direction is right?

Direction and timing are separate problems. If you are right about where the market is going but enter before the correction finishes, your stop gets hit first. The fix is to wait for the correction to reach your zone and to place the stop where the structure actually breaks, then size the position from that distance.

Does entry timing matter more than risk management?

No — risk management decides whether you survive long enough for good entries to compound. A precise entry with an oversized position can still damage an account, while a decent entry with a fixed 0.5% to 1% risk per trade keeps losses small and repeatable. Entries improve results; risk rules protect them.

Source: How I Find My Trading Entries | Trading Course 003 · Markdown version

See also