OTE Zone Scanner: The 70.5% to 78.6% Retracement
The optimal trade entry (OTE) is the part of a pullback that ICT-style traders watch most closely: the band between the 70.5% and 78.6% retracement of the last swing leg. This scanner finds the latest swing leg on each chart of NQ, ES, YM, RTY, MNQ, MES, MYM, M2K, GC, MGC, SI, CL, MCL, NG, 6E and 6J and alerts you the first time price trades into that band.
It runs on the 1, 3, 5, 15 minute, 1 hour and 4 hour charts and only uses closed candles.
How the scanner decides
The rules, applied to the most recent completed swing leg on each chart:
- A leg runs between two consecutive swing points, a swing low then a swing high (bullish) or the reverse (bearish).
- The band is 70.5% to 78.6% back along the leg from its end. For a bullish leg from 100 to 130 that is 108.85 down to 106.42.
- The alert fires the first time a candle trades into the band after the leg has completed. Reaching only the 61.8% line does not count.
- If a candle closes beyond the start of the leg before price ever pulls back into the band, the leg is broken and there is no alert.
- A leg smaller than three average candles is ignored. On a one-minute chart such legs are noise.
- The alert direction is the direction of the leg: a bullish OTE is a pullback down into the band after an up leg.
What you get in the alert
The public feed shows a line such as "NQ 5m · Bullish OTE zone (70.5-78.6%) entered". An alert sent to your email or Discord adds the band's prices and the time of the candle. The first touch is reported once per leg, when the candle that entered the band closes.
What it cannot tell you
Price often runs straight through the band, and a bigger pullback can turn a bullish leg into a bearish one. The scanner marks where the band is entered and makes no claim about what follows. Alerts are informational, not trading advice.
Setting up OTE alerts
Choose "OTE zone (70.5-78.6%)" as the alert type on the Alerts page, then pick your markets and timeframes.
- Choose the alert type: OTE zone.
- Pick your markets and timeframes.
- Set a direction if you only trade one side.
- Choose email, Discord or both, then press Send test.
The alert this scanner sends
| Alert | Sent when |
|---|---|
| OTE zone entered | Price trades into the 70.5% to 78.6% band of the latest swing leg for the first time. |
Frequently asked questions
What is the OTE zone?
Optimal trade entry: the band between the 70.5% and 78.6% retracement of a swing leg, watched by ICT-style traders as a pullback entry area.
How is this different from the OTE scanner?
The OTE scanner on this site alerts when a candle closes at any level of the wider 61.8% to 88.8% zone. This scanner uses only the tight 70.5% to 78.6% band and alerts the first time price trades into it, even before a candle closes there.
Which timeframes does it cover?
The 1, 3, 5, 15 minute, 1 hour and 4 hour charts, on 16 futures markets.
Does it alert more than once per leg?
No. Only the first time price enters the band.
Does it tell me to buy or sell?
No. It reports that price has reached the band.
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
- OTE Scanner (Optimal Trade Entry) — What OTE is in ICT trading, the OTE fib levels, and a free live scanner that alerts when futures price closes in the 61.8% to 88.8% zone.
- CISD 70.5% Retracement Scanner — Free live CISD scanner for 16 futures markets. Alerts when price pulls back to 70.5% of the leg after a change in state of delivery, on six timeframes.
- Fibonacci Retracement Alerts — Free live scanner for Fibonacci retracement touches on 16 futures markets: 23.6% to 88.8% levels of the latest swing, with email or Discord alerts.
- Fair Value Gap (FVG) Scanner — What a fair value gap is, how to identify one, and a free live FVG scanner for 16 futures markets with alerts by email or Discord.
- Inverse FVG (IFVG) Scanner — What an inverse fair value gap (IFVG) is, how to spot one, and a free live IFVG scanner for 16 futures markets with alerts.
- 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.