Narrative, Draw on Liquidity & Context
The model gets you in. The narrative determines whether you hold. The draw on liquidity is your target. Know where price is going before you look for an entry.
Narrative First
Narrative is the story of price. Where is price coming from, where is it trying to go, and why? Without narrative, every SSMT looks equally valid. With it, you filter out 70% of noise before you even look for an entry.
Four Sources of Draw on Liquidity
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Previous X highs and lows: previous session, day, week, month high/low. The primary targets. Always mark them.
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Unmitigated gaps: fair value gaps that haven’t been returned to. Price gravitates toward open gaps.
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Time-based premium/discount: previous HTF quarter range. Above 50% = premium. Below = discount.
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Previous candle high/low: the most reliable near-term target. Identify the signature correctly and it gets taken almost every time.
Reading HTF Narrative with SSMT
A bullish monthly SSMT sets the narrative bullish. Every bearish daily or 90-min SSMT after it should be treated as a retracement — not a reversal. Wait for the bearish SSMT to fail (itCISD), then enter long. The bearish SSMTs become draws for retracement targets and entries when they fail.
The SMT Market Structure Shift
Any lower TF SSMT that opposes the HTF narrative is an SMT Market Structure Shift — a retracement marker, not a reversal signal. Use it to find where price is likely to retrace to (the PDA formed by the HTF SSMT), then look for a long from there.
Know Where First
- Know where price is going before you look for an entry. The entry is the easy part. The narrative is the work. Most traders skip it — that’s why most traders lose.
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