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The Silver Bullet: A Time-Based Setup

Advanced ยท 9 min read

A short-window setup: look for a sweep and a fair value gap inside defined one-hour windows.

What it is

The Silver Bullet is a time-based approach with three one-hour windows in New York time: 03:00 to 04:00, 10:00 to 11:00 and 14:00 to 15:00.

Inside a window you look for a sweep of nearby liquidity, then a fair value gap, and trade the retrace into it toward the opposite liquidity pool.

It is a rule-based way to avoid overtrading. Outside the windows, you do not trade.

How to spot it

  1. Mark equal highs or lows and the daily bias before the window.
  2. During the window, wait for a sweep and displacement.
  3. Mark the fair value gap left by the displacement candle.
  4. Enter on the retrace into the gap with a defined stop and target.

Trade plan

  • Entry: On the retrace into the fair value gap during the window.
  • Stop loss: Beyond the sweep wick.
  • Target: The opposite liquidity pool, at least 2R. Skip if the target is too close.

Common mistakes

  • Wrong: Taking the setup outside the time window. Right: No window, no trade.
  • Wrong: Forgetting to convert times to New York time. Right: Set a clock for New York time.

Pro tip: Pick one window to master first. Journal every trade with a screenshot before adding a second window.

Quiz

  • Which is one of the Silver Bullet windows (New York time)? Answer: 10:00 to 11:00. The windows are 03:00 to 04:00, 10:00 to 11:00 and 14:00 to 15:00.
  • Outside the windows you should: Answer: Not trade this setup. No window, no trade.
  • The entry is on the retrace into the: Answer: Fair value gap. The gap left by displacement is the entry zone.

Educational content, not financial advice. Diagrams are illustrations, not real market data.