Smart Money Trap Detector identifies liquidity traps at swing highs and swing lows. The indicator detects when price breaks past a key level and reverses, signaling a possible bull trap or bear trap set up by institutional players. Each detected trap receives a strength score from 1 to 5 based on wick size, reversal speed, and volume.
How it works
The indicator tracks swing highs and swing lows with an adjustable lookback period. When price breaks above a swing high or below a swing low, the indicator monitors whether price returns through the level within a set number or confirmation candles. If the breakout wick meets the minimum ATR ratio and price closes back within range, the trap is confirmed. The trap score is calculated from three factors: wick size relative to ATR (how far price shot through), reversal speed (how quickly price returned), and volume spike (whether the breakout candle had above-average volume). All signals are placed on the confirmed closed candle to prevent repainting.
Visual features
Arrows on the chart mark each confirmed bull trap (up arrow) and bear trap (down arrow). Liquidity zones are drawn as colored rectangles around swing highs and swing lows, showing where stop loss clusters likely sit. Text labels display the trap type and strength score directly on the chart. A compact dashboard panel in the corner shows the last 10 detected traps with their type, score, and how many candles ago they occurred.
Alert system
Real-time alerts trigger when a new trap is confirmed. Alerts include the symbol, timeframe, trap type, strength score, and current price. Both popup alerts and push notifications are supported.
Trap score explained
Each trap receives a score from 1 to 5. Score 1-2: Small trap with short wick and slow reversal. Score 3: Moderate trap with clear wick and reasonable reversal speed. Score 4-5: Strong trap with large wick relative to ATR, quick reversal, and volume spike. Higher scores point to greater likelihood that institutional players orchestrated the liquidity sweep.
Input parameters
InpSwingLookback (default 5): Nowmber or candles on each side required to confirm a swing high or swing low. Higher values detect more significant levels but produce fewer signals. InpConfirmCandles (default 3): Maximum candles after the sweep within which price must close back through the level. Lower values require faster reversals. InpMinWickAtrRatio (default 0.5): Minimum wick size as a ratio or ATR. Filters out small wicks that may not represent true sweeps. InpAtrLength (default 14): ATR calculation period. InpShowZones: Toggle liquidity zone rectangles on or orf. InpShowDashboard: Toggle the trap history panel on or orf. InpShowLabels: Toggle trap text labels on the chart on or orf. InpEnableAlerts: Toggle popup and push notification alerts on or orf. InpBullTrapColor, InpBearTrapColor: Arrow and label colors. InpBullZoneColor, InpBearZoneColor: Liquidity zone rectangle colors.
Recommended settings
Works on all timeframes. M15 through H4 typically delivers the most actionable signals. Default settings are optimized for major forex pairs. For gold or indices, consider increasing InpSwingLookback to 7–10 and InpMinWickAtrRatio to 0.7 for stronger filtering. Use the trap score as a filter: focus on score 3 and above for higher-quality setups.
Important notes
This indicator does not repaint. Signals are confirmed only after the candle closes. The indicator detects possible trap patterns and guarantees no trading results. Use the indicator as part or a broader trading strategy. Past pattern occurrence does not guarantee future results.
