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ICT 2022 Mentorship model (M2): the rules, a real win, a real loss and a year of results

The ICT 2022 Mentorship model as our M2 scanner reads it: raid, shift, FVG entry, a real win and loss on gold and a year of results.

2026-11-12 · 6 min read · by the ICC Charts team (how we write)

The ICT 2022 Mentorship model is the plain version of an ICT setup: price takes liquidity, turns with a strong candle that shifts structure, leaves a fair value gap, and the trader enters in that gap. Our M2 scanner marks it in two windows a day. This lesson gives M2's exact rules, a real filled win and a real filled loss from a year of gold, the whole year's numbers, the usual mistakes and a quiz. We are not affiliated with ICT (Inner Circle Trader); this is our own reading of the public concepts.

The two windows

WindowNew YorkUTC (winter)PKT (winter)IST (winter)
London killzone02:00-05:0007:00-10:0012:00-15:0012:30-15:30
New York AM killzone07:00-10:0012:00-15:0017:00-20:0017:30-20:30

In summer the UTC, PKT and IST times are one hour earlier. More in killzones and sessions.

The M2 rules, as our engine reads them

  1. Bias first. The daily bias is set before the window. No bias, no trade.
  2. A raid against the bias. From 30 minutes before the window until its end, price trades through a liquidity level on the wrong side and the move is the start of a leg. M2 accepts any liquidity: previous day and week highs and lows, the Asian, London and CBDR ranges, the session's own range so far, and swing highs and lows including equal highs and lows. See liquidity.
  3. A shift back. A market structure shift in the bias direction (or a break of structure made with a strong candle).
  4. The first gap of that leg, created inside the window, within 10 candles of the shift. See fair value gaps.
  5. Entry and stop. A limit order at the middle (CE) of the gap. The stop goes beyond the extreme of the raid by the symbol's stop buffer. The entry must be in the discount half of the leg for a buy, the premium half for a sell.
  6. Targets. The next liquidity levels in the trade direction, nearest first and at least 1R away; the last one at least 2R away, otherwise the setup is skipped.
  7. Time limits. The order expires when the window ends. A trade still open is closed 2 hours after the window ends.

A real win: gold, 25 March 2026

Gold 5-minute chart of 25 March 2026 with the London killzone shaded and an M2 long entry, stop and three targets: filled, TP1 and TP2 reached, the last quarter closed at breakeven
Gold, 25 Mar 2026 (New York time). M2 LONG A in the London killzone: filled, TP1 and TP2 reached, the last quarter closed at breakeven. Result +2.54R.

Gold had fallen into the London killzone, took a 1-minute low (the raid), and shifted up. The model bought the gap at 4,538.38 with the stop at 4,533.05. Half of the trade closed at TP1 (4,551.72) and the stop moved to breakeven; a quarter closed at TP2 (4,566.85); the last quarter came back to breakeven at 4,538.68 and closed there. Result: +2.54R.

A real loss: gold, 24 June 2026

Gold 5-minute chart of 24 June 2026 with the London killzone shaded and an M2 short that was filled and stopped out minutes later before price fell through the first two targets
Gold, 24 Jun 2026 (New York time). M2 SHORT A: filled, then stopped out a few dollars above the entry; price afterwards fell through TP1 and TP2. Result -1.10R.

Every rule was met and the setup was graded A: a raid above a 1-minute high, a shift down, a short at 4,087.93 with the stop at 4,090.84. Price pushed up through the stop within minutes and the trade closed at a loss. Afterwards gold fell through TP1 and TP2. The direction was right and the trade still lost: the stop sits just beyond the raid, which keeps risk small and is hit often.

The whole year on gold

Both trades come from one run of our strategy tester's simulator on gold 1-minute history, 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026 (fills on the next candle, the stop checked first, the spread paid):

M2 on gold, 1 Oct 2025 - 30 Sep 2026SetupsFilled tradesWin rateTotalProfit factor
With the daily bias filter494326%-3.09R0.91
Without the bias filter12311130%-8.72R0.90

This is a model that did not make money on gold over the year, with or without the filter. With the bias filter, 11 of 43 trades won; the four biggest winners (+8.67R, +6.55R, +3.73R and +3.69R) added up to 22.6R, so without them the year would have been about -26R. The deepest losing run was 14R. By period, October to December 2025 lost 8.0R in 9 trades and 2026 made +4.9R in 34 trades, so the result depends heavily on the months you pick. By window, London lost 0.6R and New York AM lost 2.5R. We show it because it is the clearest picture of the pattern, not as a system to trade blindly.

Test it yourself

Run M2 on your own market and months in the strategy tester in the web terminal (the free trial includes it). It uses the same rules and shows every trade, win or loss. If you try it live, start on a demo account.

Common mistakes

  1. Treating the model as a signal service. One year on gold made no money; study it, test it, size small.
  2. Entering on the raid. The raid is the trap. Wait for the shift and the gap.
  3. Taking a gap that formed outside the window. The rule is a gap created inside the killzone.
  4. Moving the stop wider after entry. If the stop is hit the setup failed, even if price later goes your way (as on 24 June).
  5. Trading it without checking the larger picture. A strong trend against the bias can run through every gap.

Check yourself: 3 questions

1. In which two windows does M2 look for a setup?

The London killzone (02:00-05:00 New York time) and the New York AM killzone (07:00-10:00 New York time).

2. After the raid and the market structure shift, where does M2 place its entry and where its stop?

The entry is a limit order at the middle (CE) of the first fair value gap of the move, created inside the window. The stop goes beyond the extreme of the raid by the symbol's stop buffer.

3. On 24 June 2026 gold fell through TP1 and TP2 after the short was stopped out. Did the model fail?

The direction was right but the trade lost: price first went above the stop. The rules count it as a loss, and the tester does too. The year's numbers show that this kind of loss is common.

Practise it

The gap is the entry, so practise finding it with the FVG practice in the Chart Challenge, and the raid with the liquidity sweep practice. For a one-hour version of the same idea see the Silver Bullet.

Education only, not financial advice. Trading involves a high risk of loss; past results, including the tester numbers above, do not predict future results. Practise on a demo account first.

Try it on a live chart

Open ICC Charts in your browser, free, with the ICT and VSA layers and the model scanner. Or practise on past charts in the free Chart Challenge game.

Open it on the chart → Play the chart game

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