Order block
An order block is the last opposing candle before a sharp move away from a level, treated in Smart Money Concepts as an area where institutional orders were placed and where price may react if it returns.
In practice, a bullish order block is typically the last down-candle before a strong rally, and a bearish order block the last up-candle before a sharp decline. The reasoning is that a large participant absorbed the opposing side there, and unfilled interest may remain if price revisits.
The identification problem is significant. Any strong move has a last opposing candle, so order blocks can be drawn on virtually any chart in hindsight. Which ones 'work' is only knowable afterwards, and the criteria separating a valid block from an invalid one vary between teachers.
A useful test: mark your order blocks before the session, not during it. If a level only becomes obvious once price is already reacting to it, it was not a level — it was a description.
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Maintained by Jared Sinclair, Founder · Syrax Global FZCO · Definitions are educational, not financial advice.
Knowing the vocabulary is the easy part.
Every term here can be learned in an afternoon. Applying them consistently under pressure is the part that decides outcomes — and the part we measure.