When I first started exploring ICT (Inner Circle Trader) concepts, I kept hearing traders casually mention Sunday gaps. Everyone acted like it was common knowledge, but for a newbie like me, the term was mysterious. I remember staring at my charts on Monday morning, wondering why price suddenly jumped or dropped overnight, and why nobody seemed worried about it.

The reader outcome is behavioural: turn this guidance into a repeatable decision without relying on urgency, hindsight or one-off results.

The Behaviour to Practise

Mark the condition in advance and wait for confirmation instead of labelling it after price moves.

Why This Behaviour Matters

Technical concepts become behavioural skills only when the trader defines what must be visible before entry. Pre-marking reduces hindsight bias and makes the setup testable.

It took me a while to understand how Sunday gaps for beginners actually worked, why they matter, and how they can influence trading strategies. In this article, I’ll walk you through my journey learning about Sunday gaps, share personal stories, and explain the concept in a way that any beginner can grasp.

What Are Sunday Gaps?

In simple terms, a Sunday gap is the difference between the closing price on Friday and the opening price on Sunday (or Monday in some platforms, since the forex market technically opens Sunday evening in GMT).

Markets don’t always open exactly where they left off, especially in forex. Economic news, geopolitical events, and liquidity imbalances over the weekend can cause price to “gap” up or down.

H3: Why It Matters

Sunday gaps are significant because they reveal overnight sentiment shifts. They often highlight:

Where smart money might be positioning for the week

Potential areas for liquidity to be grabbed

Zones where price may eventually retrace

For me, understanding gaps was a turning point. Before this, I was looking at my charts as if price moves were random. Once I started marking Sunday gaps, patterns began to emerge, and my entries became more strategic.

My First Encounter With a Sunday Gap

I remember one Monday morning early in my trading journey. I logged into my trading platform, ready to trade EUR/USD. Overnight, price had gapped up by about 40 pips. My first instinct was panic—I hadn’t expected it. I quickly placed a trade to “catch the move,” and of course, it reversed sharply.

After reviewing the ICT lessons, I realized my mistake: I hadn’t marked the Sunday gap or understood its significance. I had been trading blindly, ignoring a key structural feature of the market. That experience taught me that gaps are not anomalies—they’re signals that can guide better entries when understood.

How to Spot Sunday Gaps

Spotting Sunday gaps is easier than it seems once you know what to look for.

H3: Step 1 — Mark Friday’s Close

Start by noting the closing price of the Friday candle on your daily chart. This is your reference point for the gap.

H3: Step 2 — Observe Sunday’s Open

Check the opening price when the market resumes (Sunday evening for most forex brokers). The difference between Friday’s close and Sunday’s open is the gap.

H3: Step 3 — Highlight the Gap Zone

Draw a rectangle between Friday’s close and Sunday’s open. This visual aid helps you quickly identify where price may revisit for liquidity grabs or retracements.

I personally started color-coding these zones—green for bullish gaps, red for bearish gaps. It became part of my weekly routine, and I found it easier to spot potential setups.

Why Sunday Gaps Are Important in ICT Trading

In ICT, Sunday gaps aren’t just “curiosities”—they’re actionable pieces of market structure.

H3: They Often Act as Liquidity Magnets

Many retail traders place stops around weekend levels. Institutions often target these zones to collect liquidity. If you see a gap, it’s often a magnet for price to return and test the unfilled area.

H3: They Provide Context for Daily Bias

If the Sunday gap aligns with other ICT concepts like order blocks or liquidity pools, it strengthens the daily bias. For example, a bullish gap that coincides with a higher low and a liquidity pool may indicate a strong buying opportunity.

H3: Help Plan Entries and Targets

Gaps can act as natural zones for entries, stop-loss placements, or profit targets. Once I started integrating Sunday gaps into my trading plan, my entries were cleaner and my risk management improved.

How I Use Sunday Gaps Today

After weeks of practice, I developed a routine for handling Sunday gaps:

Mark the Gap Every Friday: Before closing the week, I note Friday’s close.

Observe Sunday’s Open: Draw a rectangle to capture the gap zone.

Look for Confluence: Check if the gap aligns with order blocks, liquidity pools, or swing levels.

Plan Trades Around the Gap: I rarely enter trades without considering if price is near the gap zone.

Adjust for Market Structure: If price has broken structure overnight, I reassess the bias in light of the gap.

This routine has saved me from jumping into impulsive trades and improved my weekly planning.

Common Mistakes Beginners Make With Sunday Gaps H3: Mistake #1 — Ignoring the Gap

Many beginners trade Monday as if nothing happened overnight. Ignoring the gap can result in entering at the wrong levels or missing smart money setups.

H3: Mistake #2 — Chasing the Gap

Some traders try to “catch” the gap immediately after the open. Often, price retraces first. Waiting for confirmation before entering reduces the risk of being whipsawed.

H3: Mistake #3 — Not Using Confluence

Gaps alone aren’t enough for a trade. If a gap aligns with ICT order blocks, liquidity zones, and market structure, the probability of success increases. Beginners often ignore this and trade gaps in isolation.

Personal Takeaways

Understanding Sunday gaps for beginners was one of the first concepts that helped me see the market in a structured way. Key lessons I learned:

Gaps are not anomalies—they are signals of market sentiment

Patience is crucial: wait for confirmation rather than chasing the gap

Align gaps with ICT concepts to increase probability

Marking and monitoring gaps should be part of a weekly routine

One memorable example: I saw a bearish Sunday gap on GBP/USD that aligned with a liquidity pool and a previous order block. I waited for a lower-timeframe rejection candle, entered, and the trade moved perfectly in my favor. That moment made me realize that gaps could be powerful allies in smart money trading.

Final Thoughts

For beginners, Sunday gaps for beginners are a simple yet powerful tool to integrate into ICT trading. They reveal overnight sentiment shifts, act as potential liquidity zones, and provide context for daily bias.

Start by marking Friday’s close and Sunday’s open, draw your gap zones, and watch for alignment with other ICT concepts. Over time, Sunday gaps become more than just a market quirk—they become a guide for better entries, improved risk management, and higher-probability trades.

Remember: gaps don’t guarantee a trade, but they can significantly improve your perspective and structure as a first-time smart trader. Patience, confluence, and routine are key.

If you want, I can also create a visual guide showing how to mark and trade Sunday gaps for beginners, with step-by-step chart examples for practical application.

Do you want me to create that next?

Recognise the Trigger

• Trigger: Price approaches an area that resembles the concept described in this guide.
• Automatic response: Assume the label is correct and enter because the chart looks familiar.
• Coached response: Mark the level, state the expected confirmation and invalidation, wait for the sequence, and record a screenshot whether the trade is taken or skipped.
• Stop condition: Do not trade when the higher-timeframe context, confirmation or invalidation point is missing.

How to Practise the Behaviour

1. Mark the relevant level or time window before price reaches it.
2. Write the exact confirmation required for this setup.
3. Define the invalidation point and maximum risk.
4. Wait for the complete sequence; do not anticipate the final signal.
5. Capture before-and-after screenshots and review whether the original conditions were genuinely present.

Worked Example

A trader reviewing how i understood sunday gaps — a newbie’s journey into ict notices the trigger before acting. Instead of making an immediate decision, the trader follows the written steps, records the evidence and accepts a no-trade or no-purchase outcome when a required condition is missing. The coaching win is following the process; one profitable or unprofitable result does not prove the rule works.

Common Mistakes and Reset

• Changing the rule after seeing the outcome. Reset by returning to the version written before the decision.
• Treating confidence as evidence. Reset by naming the observable condition that is present or absent.
• Increasing risk to recover time or money. Reset by applying the pre-agreed limit or ending the session.

After a mistake, do not try to repair the outcome with another impulsive action. Record the trigger, step away, and resume only when the checklist and risk conditions are valid again.

Self-Coaching Questions

• What exactly triggered the decision?
• Which observable evidence supported the action?
• Did I respect the risk limit and stop condition?
• What is the one behaviour I will repeat or reset next time?

Sources & Further Reading

• Investor.gov’s explanation of market order types — Clarifies how market, limit and stop orders behave and why execution differs from an expected chart level.
• CME Group’s guide to futures order types — Connects order instructions with execution, liquidity and risk control in exchange-traded markets.
• CME Group’s guide to submitting futures orders — Shows how contract choice, order entry, position size, execution price and margin interact.
• BIS research on FX execution algorithms and market functioning — Provides institutional evidence on fragmented liquidity, execution methods and market impact.
• CFTC’s futures-market fundamentals — Provides regulated-market context for price discovery, clearing, leverage and participant roles.

Now Practise This Behaviour

Immediate exercise: use the next 10 minutes to complete this practice loop.

1. Write the trigger for this behaviour in one sentence.
2. Write the coached response and the condition that means stop.
3. Apply the rule to one recent chart, decision or firm comparison.
4. Record whether you followed the process, without scoring the financial outcome.

Open the 21-Day Discipline Builder

Now practise this behaviour.