Break and Retest Scanner for Futures

What is a retest in trading?

A retest is a return to a level or zone that price has already reacted to. In a break and retest, price breaks through a level, then comes back to it from the other side, and traders watch whether the old level now holds in the opposite direction. Old resistance acting as support after a break is the classic example.

A first retest is simpler: a zone forms, price leaves it, and the first time price comes back is the retest. Many ICT setups are built on that first return, because later returns tend to hold less often.

Break and retest examples

Left: a bullish gap fails, flips, and price comes back to it from below (an inverse FVG). Right: a bearish order block fails and price retests it from above (a breaker). The blue line marks the candle where the alert fires.

Which retests this scanner detects

It retests zones the scanner finds itself, not lines you draw. Two groups:

• Break and retest: an inverse fair value gap (a gap a candle closed through, retested from the other side) and a breaker block (an order block a candle closed through, retested from the other side).
• First retest: a fair value gap touched for the first time, and an order block touched for the first time.
• Rejection retests: price returning into a rejection block body, into its rejecting wick, or through the wick's 50% line.

Break and retest strategy, step by step

Traders who trade breaks and retests usually follow the same sequence. The scanner covers the first three steps for you.

• Find a zone that matters: a fair value gap or order block that formed with a strong move.
• Wait for a real break: a candle that closes through the zone, not just a wick through it.
• Wait for the retest: price coming back to the flipped zone from the other side.
• Decide on the retest: look for a reaction in the new direction, and place the stop beyond the zone before entering.

How the scanner decides what counts

• Closed candles only, so a retest alert is never withdrawn afterwards.
• A break needs a candle close through the zone. A wick through it does not flip the zone.
• A retest needs price to trade at least one tick into the zone. Reaching its edge does not count.
• Each zone alerts once per retest type, on the first retest, so you are not told about the same zone again and again.

Retest or sweep?

They are easy to confuse. In a retest, price comes back to a zone and the zone is the point. In a liquidity sweep, price trades through a high or low and closes back, and the stops resting beyond the level are the point. A sweep often comes before a break and retest: price sweeps one side, breaks a zone on the other, then retests it. The scanner has a separate liquidity sweep alert for that first step.

Setting up retest alerts

Each retest is its own alert type, so you can follow only the ones you trade.

• Break and retest: choose Inverse FVG and Breaker block.
• First retests: choose Fair Value Gap and Order block.
• Rejection retests: choose Rejection block retested, Rejection wick retested or Rejection wick 50%.
• Pick markets and timeframes, choose email, Discord or both, and press Send test.

The alerts this scanner sends

Frequently asked questions

What does retest mean in trading?

Price coming back to a level or zone it already reacted to. After a break, a retest checks whether the old level now holds from the other side.

What is the break and retest pattern?

Price breaks through a level or zone, pulls back to it, and the old level acts in the opposite role, for example old resistance holding as support. In ICT terms, an inverse FVG and a breaker block are both break and retest patterns.

Is this a breakout and retest scanner for support and resistance lines?

Not for lines you draw. It finds and retests ICT zones on its own: fair value gaps, order blocks, breakers, inverse FVGs and rejection blocks.

Does it alert on every retest?

No. Each zone alerts on its first retest, so the feed is not filled with the same zone again and again.

What counts as a valid break?

A candle has to close through the zone. A wick through it does not count, and the zone keeps its original role.

Which timeframe is best for retests?

There is no best one. The 1 and 3 minute charts produce many retests and more of them fail. The 15 minute to 4 hour charts produce fewer, larger zones. Many traders use the higher timeframe for direction and the lower one for the entry.

Does a retest alert mean price will hold?

No. It means price came back to a zone. Plenty of retests fail and price runs through. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss.

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

• 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.
• Breaker Block Scanner — What an ICT breaker block is, how to identify one, and a free live breaker block scanner for 16 futures markets with 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.
• Rejection Block Scanner — What an ICT rejection block is, what makes one valid, and a free live scanner for 16 futures markets with wick and 50% alerts.
• Live futures chart scanner — every alert type, updated as candles close.