GUIDE · INDICATORS

IQ Structure

IQ Structure is the suite's price-action layer. It maps what discretionary traders draw by hand — market structure, order blocks, equal highs and lows, liquidity sweeps — and labels each one only when it confirms, at two tiers of significance. The result is a chart that shows you where the market's memory sits, without the clutter of every minor wiggle getting a name.

QQQ · 1D · IQ Structure
Structure · Bullish
QQQ, daily. Dual-tier structure tags, CHoCH and BOS labels, volumetric order blocks stacked under the summer rally, an equal high overhead and the projected trendline — the map, labeled only when confirmed.
QQQ, daily. Dual-tier structure tags, CHoCH and BOS labels, volumetric order blocks stacked under the summer rally, an equal high overhead and the projected trendline — the map, labeled only when confirmed.

Key features

Dual-tier structure.
Internal structure tracks the fast swings; swing structure tracks the ones that matter. Both are labeled separately so you always know which tier just broke.
Volumetric order blocks.
Each block carries the volume that built it, shown in the box. Heavy blocks are defended; light ones break — the difference is visible before the retest.
Liquidity mapping.
Equal highs and lows are marked as resting liquidity, and the sweep that takes them is labeled the moment it confirms.
Alerts on confirmation.
CHoCH, BOS, order-block touches and sweeps — alerted when they confirm, never on the wick that might become one.

Dual-tier structure

Every structure tool has to choose between reacting fast and meaning something. IQ Structure refuses the choice by running two tiers at once. The internal tier tracks minor swings — it turns first, tells you the character of the move is changing, and it is allowed to be wrong. The swing tier tracks major pivots — it turns rarely, and when it breaks, the map of the market actually changed.

The labels encode the difference: a change of character (CHoCH) says the prevailing direction just got its first crack; a break of structure (BOS) says the new direction is now making its own higher highs or lower lows. Internal labels print small, swing labels print strong — your eye learns the hierarchy in a session.

ES1! · 1H · IQ Structure
CHoCH → BOS
PLACEHOLDER — structure sequence shot: a downtrend's last lower low, the internal CHoCH that cracked it, the swing BOS that confirmed the reversal, and the first pullback after. Number the sequence 1-2-3 on the image.

Labels on the chart

CHoCH — change of character
Price broke the most recent opposing pivot for the first time. The prevailing move's rhythm is cracked, not yet reversed.
Play: Stop pressing the old direction. This is where you start building the case for the other side, not where you flip wholesale.
Break of structure
The new direction printed its own confirming break — the trend now owns the structure.
Play: Trade the new direction's pullbacks. The broken level and the freshest order block are your entry map.
Equal highs / equal lows
Two or more pivots at the same level — resting liquidity that the market tends to visit.
Play: Do not park stops there with the crowd. Expect the level to get run before the real move.
Liquidity sweep
An equal level got taken and price closed back — the run on stops happened.
Play: The highest-quality reversal context the layer prints. Sweep plus CHoCH in the same zone is the A-setup.

Order blocks

An order block is the last opposing candle zone before a move that broke structure — where the positions that fueled the move were built. IQ Structure draws only the blocks tied to confirmed breaks, extends them until violated, and prints the participating volume inside each box. That number is the block's credibility: retests of heavy blocks are defended trades, retests of light blocks are traps.

AAPL · 1D · IQ Structure
OB · Retest
PLACEHOLDER — order-block shot: a bullish volumetric block with its volume figure visible, the clean retest into it, and the continuation. Second example of a light block failing nearby if the chart allows.

Liquidity events

Markets move between pools of resting orders. Equal highs and lows mark where those pools sit; sweeps mark when they get consumed. The layer's discipline is the same as the rest of the suite: a sweep is only labeled once the level is taken and price closes back inside — a wick alone is a candidate, not an event. Combined with structure, the sequence to hunt is sweep → CHoCH → BOS: liquidity taken, character cracked, new trend confirmed.

Structure without the regime is context without a verdict. Run IQ Structure with IQ Bands: the Bands say which side to be on, Structure says where to do it.

Settings

SettingDefaultWhat it changes
Swing sensitivityBalancedHow major a pivot must be for the swing tier. Higher means fewer, weightier labels.
Internal tierOnThe fast tier. Turn it off for a swing-only map on higher timeframes.
Order blocksOn · volumetricBlock drawing and the volume read inside each box.
Liquidity marksOnEQH/EQL levels and sweep labels.
Visual togglesAll onEvery layer hides independently; alerts keep firing with visuals off.

Playbook

Use Structure as the where to the Bands' which way. In a long regime, buy the retest of the freshest heavy order block after a BOS; skip entries into overhead equal highs until they're swept. Counter-trend, touch nothing until the full sweep → CHoCH sequence prints — and even then, start small until the swing tier confirms. The layer rewards patience for confirmed labels and punishes trading the candidates.

Alerts

One alert with "Any alert() function call" covers CHoCH, BOS, block touches and sweeps, each message naming the tier and level. Setup steps live in the Alerts guide.