# How to Journal ICT Setups and Confluences

> A practical guide to journaling ICT (Inner Circle Trader) setups including OTE, Judas swing, kill zones, and how to track confluence for better analysis.

**URL:** https://traderjournal.app/smc-ict/how-to-journal-ict-setups-and-confluences

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# How to Journal ICT Setups and Confluences

ICT (Inner Circle Trader) methodology is a comprehensive system developed by Michael Huddleston. It includes concepts like kill zones, Judas swings, power of three, and optimal trade entry. Journaling ICT trades requires tracking more variables than standard setups.

## Key ICT Concepts to Track

### Kill Zones
ICT identifies specific time windows with highest institutional activity:
- **London Kill Zone:** 02:00–05:00 NY time
- **New York Kill Zone (AM):** 08:30–11:00 NY time
- **New York Kill Zone (PM):** 13:30–16:00 NY time

Always record which kill zone your trade occurred in. Over time, you will find which session works best for your strategy.

### Judas Swing
A Judas swing is a false move at the open of a session designed to sweep liquidity before the real move begins. Record in Notes whether a Judas swing preceded your entry.

### Power of Three (AMD)
Accumulation → Manipulation → Distribution. Note which phase you entered in — entering during Distribution gives the best continuation trades.

### Optimal Trade Entry (OTE)
OTE is the 61.8%–79% Fibonacci retracement zone of a swing. Record whether your entry was within OTE or outside it.

## Journal Template for ICT Trades

Use the Pre-trade plan or Notes field with this structure:

```
Session: London / New York AM / New York PM
HTF bias: Bullish / Bearish
Judas swing: Yes / No
Liquidity swept: Buy-side / Sell-side / None
Setup: OTE / OB / FVG / ChoCH
Entry TF: M1 / M5 / M15
OTE range hit: Yes / No
Confluences: [list]
Invalidation: [price level]
```

## Tags to Use in Trader Journal

Create consistent tags for ICT setups:
- `ote` — Optimal Trade Entry
- `judas` — Judas swing preceded entry
- `london-kz` / `nykz` — kill zone
- `pd-array` — any premium/discount array (OB, FVG, BB, etc.)

## Tracking Confluences

The more ICT concepts that align, the higher the probability setup. After 50+ trades, check in your journal:

- **Win rate with 3+ confluences vs 1-2** — does stacking improve results?
- **Kill zone win rate** — is London or New York better for you?
- **OTE vs non-OTE** — do trades within the OTE zone have better R:R?

## Summary

ICT setups have many variables. The traders who use the methodology successfully are almost always those who track these variables systematically. Trader Journal's tags and notes fields give you everything you need to build that dataset over time.