Inverse Fair Value Gap (IFVG) Scanner
An inverse fair value gap (IFVG) is what a fair value gap turns into when it fails. This scanner finds those failed gaps on 16 futures markets and alerts you the first time price comes back to test the flipped zone.
Because an IFVG only exists after a gap has been closed through, the scanner starts from real fair value gaps, applies the same size and closed-candle rules, and then follows each one until it flips.
What is an inverse fair value gap?
A fair value gap is expected to act as support or resistance. When a candle closes decisively through it instead, the gap has failed, and traders following the concept treat the same zone as the opposite kind of level. A bullish gap that price closes below becomes a bearish IFVG, watched as resistance. A bearish gap that price closes above becomes a bullish IFVG, watched as support.
The reasoning is the same as any role reversal on a chart: the price area that mattered once still matters, but the market has shown which side is in control.
Bullish and bearish IFVG examples
Each drawing starts with a gap, shows the candle that closes through it, then the retest that triggers the alert.
Bullish IFVG retested
Bearish IFVG retested
How our IFVG scanner decides what counts
- The gap must first pass the FVG rules: three closed candles, and at least a quarter of the recent average candle size.
- The gap flips when a candle closes fully through it: below the bottom of a bullish gap, or above the top of a bearish gap. The scanner follows each gap for up to 200 candles after it forms.
- The alert fires the first time price then trades at least one tick back into the flipped zone, when that candle closes. Touching only the edge does not count.
- The alert direction is the direction of the flipped zone. A retest of a bullish IFVG is named "Bullish Inverse FVG retested".
What an IFVG alert looks like
On the public scanner an alert reads "NQ 5m · Bearish Inverse FVG retested". The email or Discord version adds the zone, the price and the other structures overlapping it.
Reading an IFVG with care
An IFVG is a second-hand level: it only exists because something else failed, and a failed level can fail again. Many traders look for agreement from the trend on a higher timeframe or from another level before giving an IFVG weight. The scanner does not do that ranking for you. It reports the retest and the overlaps and leaves the decision to you.
Setting up inverse FVG alerts
Choose "Inverse FVG" as the alert type when you set up the alert, then pick your markets and timeframes. Flipped gaps take time to develop, since a gap has to form, get closed through, and then be retested, so on any one chart you will see fewer of them than plain fair value gaps.
Many traders set the FVG and IFVG alerts together for the same markets, so a gap alert and its later failure both reach them.
- Choose the alert type: Inverse FVG.
- Pick your markets and timeframes.
- Set a direction if you only trade one side.
- Choose email, Discord or both.
- Press Send test.
The alert this scanner sends
| Alert | Sent when |
|---|---|
| Inverse FVG retested | After a gap has flipped, price trades at least one tick back into the flipped zone for the first time. |
Frequently asked questions
What is an IFVG in trading?
An inverse fair value gap is a fair value gap that price has closed through. The zone flips polarity: a failed bullish gap is watched as resistance, a failed bearish gap as support.
How does the scanner know a gap has inverted?
A candle has to close fully through the gap: below the bottom of a bullish gap or above the top of a bearish gap. A wick through it does not count.
Does an IFVG alert fire when the gap flips or when price returns?
When price returns. The alert is triggered by the first retest of the flipped zone, not by the flip itself.
How long does the scanner follow a gap?
For up to 200 candles after the gap forms, on whichever timeframe you are watching.
Can I get IFVG alerts by email or Discord?
Email and Discord are the two delivery options for alerts you set up. Pick "Inverse FVG" as the alert type, then choose email, Discord or both.
Learn more and use it on a chart
- ICT trading concepts for futures — Market structure, fair value gaps and liquidity explained for futures traders.
- Open the charting page — The chart tools, including fair value gap and inverse FVG drawing, live here.
Related scanners
- Fair Value Gap (FVG) Scanner — Free live FVG scanner for 16 futures markets. Watch fair value gap retests as candles close, see the rules it uses, and set up alerts.
- Breaker Block Scanner — Free live breaker block scanner for 16 futures markets. See when price retests a failed order block that has flipped, and set up alerts for it.
- Order Block Scanner — Free live order block scanner for 16 futures markets. Displacement-validated bullish and bearish order blocks, with alerts you can set up.
- Rejection Block Scanner — Free live rejection block scanner for 16 futures markets. Alerts when a block forms, is retested, or price returns to the rejection wick or its 50%.
- Live futures chart scanner — every alert type, updated as candles close.
Alerts are informational and are not trading advice. They show that a pattern was detected, not where price will go, and patterns often fail. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss.