Smart Money vs ICT: what they are

Two schools, one idea

You will hear two names, and they are NOT the same thing. ICT (Inner Circle Trader) is a specific, detailed methodology taught by one mentor — order blocks, fair-value gaps, liquidity, killzones, and a strict set of models. SMC (Smart Money Concepts) is the broader, community-simplified framework that grew out of ICT and other order-flow ideas — the popular, streamlined version (BOS, CHoCH, order blocks, supply/demand). ICT is the deep source; SMC is the widely-used distillation. We borrow the clearest concepts from both.

What unites them is the core belief: large institutions ("smart money") move price by pushing to where orders rest, taking that liquidity, and reversing from zones they left behind. It sounds like a secret language, but almost every term maps onto something you have already learned. Learn the map first, and the jargon stops being scary.

• SMC / ICT = structure + liquidity + zones, with sharper names.
• Almost every term has a classic-TA equivalent — learn the map.
• It reads institutional intent: push to liquidity, then reverse from a zone.
• We will build each concept step by step, with examples in both directions.