Take the current dealing range — from a clear swing low to a clear swing high. Its midpoint is equilibrium. The upper half is premium, the lower half is discount. In an uptrend, ICT traders want to buy only in discount, after price has pulled back below the middle.
It is a filter, not a signal: an order block or fair value gap in discount is a better long than the same zone in premium. The same logic flips for shorts in a downtrend.
| Discount half | 1.08100–1.08500 · 40 pips · 50% at 1.08300 |
|---|---|
| Entry (long) | 1.08400 — in discount, below 50% |
| Stop | 1.08080 — 2 pips below the range low (32 pips) |
| Target | 1.08900 — the range high (50 pips) |
| Reward to risk | 1.56R · breaks even at a 39% win rate |
EURUSD prices from the chart above (Premium and discount), entry at 1.08400. At 1.56R, this setup needs to win more than 39% of the time to make money before costs. Try your own levels in the risk/reward calculator.
Traders pick ranges on different timeframes, which changes where the middle is. Some use the daily range, some the session range. Many add the OTE band (62–79%) as the deep part of discount.
A five-minute range flips between premium and discount every few candles. The range should match the move you trade.
Discount is a place to buy only when the higher timeframe points up. In a downtrend, “cheap” can get cheaper.
Equilibrium is the border, not the trade. The entry needs its own reason inside the right half.
A definition does not tell you whether your Discount trades pay. Your own record does: in the journal, open a trade from MT4 or MT5 and add it once as your own entry criterion with “+”, then press the key of Discount under Entry criteria — the most used criteria get keys 1–9.
Reports then show Discount by itself: trades, win rate without breakeven trades, average R and P&L, and Discount in each ICT killzone, which is set on every trade by itself. Combinations such as Discount with another criterion appear once they have 15 trades, so a lucky streak does not look like an edge.
The 50% level of the dealing range — the border between premium and discount.
Use the swing low and swing high of the move you are trading on your analysis timeframe, often the daily or 4-hour chart.
You can, but ICT teaching avoids it: the stop is farther and the room to the high smaller. Your journal can show whether premium longs pay for you.