What it means
A real breakout closes beyond the level and holds there; a sweep spends little time beyond it. Wait for displacement and a structure shift to confirm.
In practice
A sweep is the event many Smart Money setups begin with. Price reaches past an obvious high or low, triggers the stops and breakout orders there, and fails to continue.
Traders wait for the candle to close back inside the level, then look for displacement in the opposite direction and a shift in structure. The extreme of the sweep is the natural place for the stop.
What to watch for
Entering the moment a level is touched is guessing that a breakout will fail. Some sweeps are followed by a second, deeper one, and some breaks are real, which is why the confirmation matters.
Related terms
4 terms- Stop huntA move that runs the stops clustered at an obvious level before price turns.
- FakeoutA break of a level that fails and falls back inside, trapping breakout traders.
- Market structure shiftMSSICT's stricter change of character: a break against the trend that comes with displacement, often right after a liquidity sweep.
- Turtle soupFading a failed run above an obvious high (or below a low) once price fails back inside and shifts structure.