🛑 Stop Hunt Patterns — How to Detect the Trap Before It Springs 🎣📉
😭”Why does price always hit my stop… and then go the right way?”
That’s not bad luck.
That’s a stop hunt — and it’s intentional 😵💫
Let’s break it down so you can stop being the liquidity
…and start trading like the ones who trigger it 🧠
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🎯 What Is a Stop Hunt?
A stop hunt is a move designed to:
1. Trigger stop losses
2. Create liquidity
3. Let smart money enter with minimal slippage
📌 It’s not just random volatility — it’s a strategy
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🔍 Common Stop Hunt Patterns
—
🪤 1. Liquidity Sweep Before Reversal
• Price wicks just above a swing high
• Clears out breakout traders + short stops
• Instant rejection → price nukes 🚨
→ Bull trap in disguise
Opposite works at lows = bear trap
—
🪤 2. False Breakout (Fake BOS)
• Structure broken → traders enter breakout
• Price fails to hold → snaps back inside range
• Weak hands flushed
✅ Confirm with low volume breakout or divergence (CVD/OI)
—
🪤 3. Session Open Spike
• London or NY opens → fast spike up/down
• Grabs stops from overnight builds
• Reverses violently within minutes
⚠️ These moves are often manufactured by algos
—
🪤 4. News-Based Stop Hunt
• Sudden pump/dump right before big news
• Everyone jumps in → trapped instantly
• Reversal wipes both sides
💡 Whales use volatility + emotion to harvest liquidity
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🧠 How to Spot a Stop Hunt Forming
✅ 1. Price nearing major swing high/low
✅ 2. Cluster of equal highs/lows = resting stops
✅ 3. Low liquidity time or session open approaching
✅ 4. Quick wick + rejection candle
✅ 5. Divergence in CVD or RSI = buyers/sellers getting trapped
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📌 Real Strategy: Fade the Hunt
1. Mark obvious liquidity zones (equal highs/lows)
2. Wait for a sharp wick into that zone
3. Watch for instant rejection
4. Confirm with volume spike or CVD divergence
5. Enter opposite to the stop hunt
6. Target the opposite side of range / imbalance
🎯 Use a tight stop behind the trap wick — high RR setups
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💣 Bonus: Combine with FVG or OB
A stop hunt into:
• Fair Value Gap (FVG)
• Order Block (OB)
• Rejection wick
= Prime sniper entry 🎯
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🔐 Final Thought:
Smart money doesn’t chase price.
They hunt for your emotions, your stops, and your fear.
Spot the hunt.
Fade the trap.
Trade with the killers — not the crowd 🧠
#zerocosteducation
