CRT Cheat Sheet: Candle Range Theory Quick Reference for Traders

This is a condensed reference for Candle Range Theory setups. If you need the full breakdown with context and reasoning, read the complete CRT trading strategy guide. This page is designed to be bookmarked and pulled up during live trading sessions when you need quick confirmation of rules and criteria.

What Is the Bullish CRT Setup?

Component	Criteria
Range candle	Prior closed candle's high and low define the range
Sweep	Current candle pushes below the prior candle's low
Trigger	Price reverses back inside the range; candle body closes inside
Entry	On the reversal candle close, or LTF structure shift + FVG retest
Stop-loss	Below the sweep wick (the lowest point reached)
TP1	50% of the prior candle's range (equilibrium)
TP2	Prior candle's high (opposite end of range)
TP3	Next buy-side liquidity pool / HTF swing high
Invalidation	Price closes below the sweep wick on the range timeframe

What's happening: Stop-losses below the prior candle's low are triggered. Institutions absorb the sell-side liquidity created by those triggered stops. With the liquidity filled, price has no reason to stay below the range - it reverses.

What Is the Bearish CRT Setup?

Component	Criteria
Range candle	Prior closed candle's high and low define the range
Sweep	Current candle pushes above the prior candle's high
Trigger	Price reverses back inside the range; candle body closes inside
Entry	On the reversal candle close, or LTF structure shift + FVG retest
Stop-loss	Above the sweep wick (the highest point reached)
TP1	50% of the prior candle's range (equilibrium)
TP2	Prior candle's low (opposite end of range)
TP3	Next sell-side liquidity pool / HTF swing low
Invalidation	Price closes above the sweep wick on the range timeframe

What's happening: Buy stops and breakout orders above the prior candle's high are triggered. Institutions sell into the buy-side liquidity. The spike above was engineered to fill institutional sell orders. Price reverses back into the range.

How Should You Pair CRT Timeframes?

The range timeframe determines which candle you use to define the high and low. The entry timeframe is where you look for the lower timeframe confirmation (structure shift, FVG formation) after the sweep.

Range Timeframe	Entry Timeframe	Trading Style	Hold Time
Monthly	Weekly / Daily	Position trading	Weeks to months
Weekly	Daily / 4H	Swing trading	Days to weeks
Daily	4H / 1H	Swing trading	1-5 days
4H	15m / 5m	Intraday swing	2-8 hours
1H	5m / 3m	Intraday scalp-to-swing	30 min - 3 hours
15m	1m	Scalping	5-30 min

General rule: The entry timeframe should be 4-16x smaller than the range timeframe. A 4H range with a 1m entry is too wide of a gap - you'll get chopped. A 4H range with a 1H entry is too narrow - you won't get a refined entry. The 15m and 5m sweet spot for a 4H range strikes the balance.

Higher timeframe CRT setups carry more context because more liquidity can accumulate at those levels. For intraday execution, treat 1H and 4H levels as repeatable working filters, while daily CRT levels are lower-frequency context that can matter when they line up with session timing or displacement.

What Is the CRT Entry Rules Checklist?

Before executing any CRT trade, verify these conditions. Use a trading checklist to formalize this process.

• The prior candle is fully closed (you're working with a confirmed range, not a developing one)
• The sweep extends clearly beyond the high or low (not a single-tick touch)
• Price has reversed back inside the range (body close, not just a wick)
• The sweep aligns with the higher timeframe bias (bullish CRT in an uptrend, bearish CRT in a downtrend)
• The trade fires during an active session - use the kill zone clock to verify London, New York, or the overlap window
• Risk-to-reward meets your minimum threshold (1.5:1 at minimum, 2:1 preferred)
• Position size is calculated before entry, not after

Where Should You Place CRT Stop Losses?

Your stop-loss placement on a CRT trade follows one principle: if the sweep level breaks with conviction, the setup is invalid. Your stop must be positioned to exit you before the invalidation becomes a disaster.

Standard placement: Beyond the extreme of the sweep wick.

• Bullish CRT: Stop goes a few ticks/pips below the lowest point of the sweep candle's wick
• Bearish CRT: Stop goes a few ticks/pips above the highest point of the sweep candle's wick

Refined placement (LTF entry): If you entered on a lower timeframe structure shift and FVG, your stop can be placed beyond the LTF swing that triggered your entry, rather than the full HTF sweep wick. This tightens the stop and improves risk-to-reward, but increases the chance of being stopped out by normal pullback volatility.

Avoid:

• Placing stops at an arbitrary pip distance (e.g., "20 pips below entry" regardless of the sweep structure)
• Moving stops to breakeven too early - let the first target hit before adjusting
• Widening stops after entry because the trade "looks like it might work"

What Are the CRT Take-Profit Targeting Rules?

CRT trades have built-in logical targets because the range itself defines the price structure.

Target 1: Equilibrium (50% of the Range)

The midpoint of the prior candle's range. This is where price returns to equilibrium after a sweep. It's the most conservative target and the most frequently hit. Use this as your "secure the trade" level where you take partials or move stops to breakeven.

Target 2: Opposite End of the Range

If you entered a bullish CRT (sweep of the low), the prior candle's high is your standard target. For a bearish CRT (sweep of the high), the prior candle's low is the target. This represents a full range traversal and is a natural resting point for price.

Target 3: External Liquidity Beyond the Range

For high-confluence setups - especially those confirmed by SMT divergence or a strong higher-timeframe alignment - you can target the next significant liquidity level beyond the range. This could be a swing high/low, an untested order block, or a fair value gap on the higher timeframe.

Partial Management Framework

Price reaches...	Action
TP1 (50% of range)	Close 30-50% of position, move SL to breakeven
TP2 (opposite end of range)	Close another 30-40%, trail SL below most recent LTF swing
TP3 (external liquidity)	Close remaining position

What Invalidates a CRT Setup?

Not every CRT sweep leads to a reversal. Knowing when to abandon a setup is as important as knowing when to take it.

Immediate invalidation - do not enter:

• Price sweeps beyond the range and holds outside it for multiple candles on the range timeframe
• The sweep candle closes with a strong body beyond the range (not just a wick)
• No reversal structure forms on the LTF within a reasonable time window (if the 4H sweeps and 30 minutes pass with no LTF shift, the setup is degrading)
• The break of structure on the LTF goes in the direction of the sweep, not against it

Post-entry invalidation - exit or let the stop hit:

• Price reverses back toward the sweep level with strong momentum and threatens to break it
• A new higher-timeframe candle forms and sweeps your entry level (the trade has become someone else's CRT setup)
• Fundamental news creates a volatility event that changes the session's character entirely

What Confluence Factors Improve CRT?

A CRT sweep on its own is a valid setup. A CRT sweep with additional confluence is a higher-probability setup. Stack these factors when they're present - don't force them.

Confluence Factor	How It Helps	Priority
Fair Value Gap at sweep level	FVG below the prior candle's low (bullish) or above the high (bearish) gives price a reason to reverse; recent testing supports keeping this near the top of the checklist	High
Order block at sweep level	An OB from a prior move sits at the sweep level, acting as institutional support/resistance	High
SMT divergence	The correlated pair fails to confirm the new extreme - see the CRT + SMT divergence combo	High
Kill zone timing	The sweep occurs during London or New York - institutional participation is highest	Medium
HTF bias alignment	The CRT direction aligns with the Daily or Weekly trend, or with the active 1H/4H structure for intraday execution	Medium
Premium/discount zone	Bullish CRT occurs in discount (below 50% of HTF range), bearish in premium	Medium
Volume spike on the sweep	Abnormal volume on the sweep candle confirms stop-losses were triggered at scale	Bonus

The CRT with Key Levels indicator automatically identifies CRT sweeps that occur at significant price levels, combining the candle range framework with institutional key level detection.