OTE Scanner: Optimal Trade Entry Alerts for Futures

OTE, short for optimal trade entry, is the ICT idea of entering on a deep pullback into a strong move, not chasing the move itself. This scanner draws the Fibonacci retracement of the latest swing leg on 16 futures markets (NQ, ES, YM, RTY, MNQ, MES, MYM, M2K, GC, MGC, SI, CL, MCL, NG, 6E and 6J) and alerts you when a candle closes at a level inside the OTE zone.

You can watch the live feed below for free. Alerts you set up by email or Discord name the exact level that was hit, so you can see at a glance whether price is in the OTE zone or only at a shallow retracement.

What is OTE in trading?

OTE stands for optimal trade entry, a term from ICT (Inner Circle Trader). After a strong move, price often pulls back before continuing. OTE is the deeper part of that pullback, measured with a Fibonacci retracement of the move. The idea is that buying deep into a pullback of an up move (or selling deep into a pullback of a down move) gives a better price and a tighter stop than entering after the move has run.

In simple terms: wait for a strong leg, wait for price to retrace most of it, and look for your entry there. It is a location, not a signal. Price can retrace into the OTE zone and keep going.

Bullish and bearish OTE examples

The shaded band is the OTE zone of the latest swing leg, and the dashed line is its 61.8% level. The blue line marks the candle where the alert fires. The faded candles are what might follow, not something the alert predicts.

Bullish Fib retracement 61.8% touched

Price rallies from a swing low to a swing high, then retraces. The dashed line is the 61.8% retracement of that leg and the shaded band is the "optimal trade entry" zone (61.8% to 88.8%). The alert fires when a candle closes within a hair of a level.

Bearish Fib retracement 61.8% touched

Price falls from a swing high to a swing low, then retraces up. The dashed line is the 61.8% retracement of that leg and the band is the 61.8% to 88.8% zone.

OTE fib levels and ICT settings

ICT's classic OTE zone runs from the 62% to the 79% retracement, with 70.5% often called the sweet spot. Many traders extend it to 88.6% or 88.8% for deeper pullbacks. In Fibonacci tool settings that usually means adding 0.62, 0.705 and 0.79 to the default levels.

This scanner works with standard Fibonacci levels and treats 61.8% to 88.8% as the OTE zone. Inside that zone it reports touches at:

61.8%, the classic golden ratio and the start of the zone.
65% and 70%, around ICT's 70.5% sweet spot.
78.6%, near the 79% end of the classic zone.
88.8%, the deep end that many traders include.

How to identify an OTE setup

Marking OTE by hand comes down to four steps. The scanner automates the first three on every closed candle.

Find a strong leg: a clear swing low to swing high for a bullish setup, or swing high to swing low for a bearish one.
Draw the Fibonacci retracement over that leg, from the start of the move to its end.
Wait for price to pull back into the 62% to 79% zone, or 61.8% to 88.8% if you use the extended version.
Look for a reason to act there, such as a fair value gap or order block in the zone, and decide where your idea is wrong before you enter.

How our OTE scanner decides what counts

There is no hand-drawn leg here. The scanner applies the same rules to every market so its levels are reproducible:

Swings use a fractal rule: a candle whose high is the highest of the five candles before it and the three after it is a swing high, and the same for lows.
The latest pair of opposite swings is the live leg. Older legs are not alerted.
An alert fires when a candle closes within 2% of the leg's size from a level, and only the nearest level is reported.
The alert names the level, for example 70% or 78.6%, so you can tell OTE touches from shallow ones at 38.2% or 50%.
A level inside the 61.8% to 88.8% band counts toward confluence, so a minimum confluence setting favours OTE touches that also overlap a fair value gap or order block.

OTE with fair value gaps and order blocks

Many ICT traders do not take an OTE touch on its own. They want it to line up with another structure: a fair value gap left by the move, an order block at the base of the leg, or a liquidity sweep just before it. The scanner tracks all of those, and every alert lists the structures overlapping its price, so you can see when an OTE touch sits on top of a gap or a block.

Setting up OTE alerts

OTE touches come through the Fibonacci retracement alert type. Choose it with your markets and timeframes, and use the level in the alert to decide whether it is in your zone. A minimum confluence of 2 or more keeps most of the shallow touches out.

Choose the alert type: Fib retracement.
Pick your markets and timeframes, for example NQ and ES on the 5 and 15 minute charts.
Set a minimum confluence if you only want OTE touches that overlap other structures.
Choose email, Discord or both, and press Send test.

The alert this scanner sends

Alert	Sent when
Fib retracement touched (61.8%, 65%, 70%, 78.6%, 88.8%)	A candle closes within 2% of the leg's size from a level inside the OTE zone of the most recent leg.

Frequently asked questions

What is OTE in trading?

Optimal trade entry. An ICT term for entering on a deep pullback into a strong move, measured with a Fibonacci retracement of that move.

What are the OTE fib levels?

ICT's classic OTE zone is the 62% to 79% retracement, with 70.5% as the sweet spot. Many traders extend it to 88.6% or 88.8%. This scanner uses 61.8% to 88.8% and reports touches at 61.8%, 65%, 70%, 78.6% and 88.8%.

What are the ICT OTE Fibonacci settings?

A common setup adds 0.62, 0.705 and 0.79 to a Fibonacci tool, often with 0.5 for the equilibrium and -0.27 and -0.62 as extension targets. Settings vary between traders.

Is OTE 61.8% or 62%?

Both are used. 62% is the rounded ICT number, and 61.8% is the classic Fibonacci ratio. The difference is a fraction of a point on most futures legs.

Is there a separate OTE alert?

No. OTE touches come through the Fibonacci retracement alert, which names the level. Touches at 61.8% to 88.8% are in the OTE zone, and they also count toward the confluence score.

What is the difference between OTE and a Fibonacci retracement?

A Fibonacci retracement marks every level of a pullback, from 23.6% to 100%. OTE is only the deep part of it, the zone ICT traders prefer for entries.

Does an OTE touch mean price will reverse?

No. It means a candle closed near a deep retracement level of the latest leg. Price often runs through the zone, and which swings define the leg changes every level. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss.

Learn more and use it on a chart

OTE trading strategy for futures — How optimal trade entry works, and where the 61.8% to 88.8% zone fits.
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

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.
Order Block Scanner — What an ICT order block is, how to spot a valid one, and a free live order block scanner for 16 futures markets with alerts.
Liquidity Sweep Scanner — Free live liquidity sweep scanner for 16 futures markets. Alerts when price sweeps the previous 1H, 4H, day, Asia or NY session high or low.
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.