Order blocks

Indicators

• Price
• High
• Low

Order blocks

bullish · untouched only · 10 · 10

• Price reaches OB
• Close in OB
• New OB
• OB broken
• Top
• Bottom

This is how the node looks on the board: inputs on the left, outputs on the right.

Zones a structure break started from. Finds the candle a break of market structure started from: when the price breaks above a swing high, the bullish order block is the candle with the lowest low in between, where the rise began. Many traders expect the price to return to this zone and turn there. The node reports when the price reaches an order block, closes inside it or breaks through it, and gives the nearest zone. An order block is only known with the break, not at its own candle. Example: bullish with untouched only reports the first return of BTC into the zone the last breakout came from.

What it looks like

• Order block
• not known yet, until the break
• broken swing level
• Price reaches OB

BTC/USDT candles with bullish order blocks from breaks of market structure (swings 10 · 10). When a close breaks above the swing high (grey line), the order block is the candle with the lowest low in between. It is only known with the break, so the box is dashed until then. With “untouched only” it ends at the first candle that reaches it: that is the return the node reports (dots).

Setting it in the chart

In the properties, a chart shows the last 150 candles and on top of them what the node finds with your settings; dotted or dashed is what it did not know yet at that time. Drag the ends of the bracket at the latest swing to change “Candles before” and “Candles after”; at its right end the swing is confirmed. The top line shows the state at the last candle, and the chart follows every setting right away.

More under Smart money and Chart above the price.

Settings

The settings appear on the right under “Properties” once you click the node on the board. Below each field you find the same explanation as here.

Direction

Default: bullish (below the price)

Which order blocks the node looks for: below the price from rises or above the price from falls.

• bullish (below the price) (default): Order blocks from breaks upward: zones below the price where the rise began. When the price comes back, many expect buyers there.
• bearish (above the price): Order blocks from breaks downward: zones above the price where the fall began. When the price comes back, many expect sellers there.

Which count

Default: untouched only

Whether an order block keeps counting after the first touch.

• untouched only (default): An order block counts until the first candle that reaches it; after that it is mitigated. This way only the first return reports, which many consider the strongest.
• mitigated too: An order block keeps counting after touches until a candle closes beyond it. Every new return reports.

Candles before

Default: 10 · from 1 to 100, whole number

How many candles before a high must all be lower, before a low higher. With more candles only clearer turning points count.

Candles after

Default: 10 · from 1 to 100, whole number

How many candles after a high must not rise above it before it counts as a swing. Only then does it count here, that many candles later; with fewer candles it counts sooner, but smaller turning points count too.

Example

Notifies you of the first return into a bullish order block: the price reaches the zone the last break upward came from.

How to connect the nodes:

1. Candle (Price) → Order blocks (Price)
2. Candle (High) → Order blocks (High)
3. Candle (Low) → Order blocks (Low)
4. Order blocks (Price reaches OB) → Telegram (Trigger)

On the board it reads: bullish · untouched only · 10 · 10

Chain as JSON

To try it, copy it and paste it in the editor under “Import”. Importing creates a new chain.

order-blocks.json

{
  "name": "Example: Order blocks",
  "version": 1,
  "nodes": [
    { "id": "c1", "type": "core.candle", "position": { "x": 40, "y": 40 }, "settings": { "pair": "BTC/USDT", "timeframe": "1h" } },
    { "id": "o1", "type": "core.order-blocks", "position": { "x": 260, "y": 40 }, "settings": {} },
    { "id": "t1", "type": "core.telegram", "position": { "x": 480, "y": 40 }, "settings": {} }
  ],
  "edges": [
    { "from": "c1.close", "to": "o1.close" },
    { "from": "c1.high", "to": "o1.high" },
    { "from": "c1.low", "to": "o1.low" },
    { "from": "o1.enter", "to": "t1.in" }
  ]
}

Inputs and outputs

Only matching types connect: number series to number series (round pin), signal to signal (square), message to message (diamond).

Direction	Pin	Type	Note
Input	Price	Number series	required
Input	High	Number series	required
Input	Low	Number series	required
Output	Price reaches OB	Signal (true/false)	–
Output	Close in OB	Signal (true/false)	–
Output	New OB	Signal (true/false)	–
Output	OB broken	Signal (true/false)	–
Output	Top	Number series	appears in messages as a price, e.g. “$81,616”
Output	Bottom	Number series	appears in messages as a price, e.g. “$81,616”

Good to know

• In messages the values are called “OB top 10 · 10”, “OB bottom 10 · 10”.
• Warm-up with the default settings: 1,020 candles (this many extra candles are loaded by the replay before the value is reliable).
• Search also finds it under: order block, ob, demand, supply, zone, retest, mitigation, smart money, smc.

Technical details

Break as in the Market structure node, by close. Bullish order block: the candle with the lowest low between the broken swing high and the break candle (the later one if equal), zone from its low to its high. It counts from the candle after the break until a candle closes below its low, at most 500 candles; “reaches” means a low at or below the order block’s high, reported when the candle before did not reach it. Top and bottom give the counting order block nearest to the close. Bearish mirrored with the highest high.

• Type in the chain: core.order-blocks · Version 1.0.0 · Category key ind
• Settings in the chain: side (Direction), mode (Which count), left (Candles before), right (Candles after)
• Pins in the chain: Input close, high, low · Output enter, inside, formed, broken, top, bottom
• Reference tests in the manifest: 1 (with fixed price data: 500 candles of 1h)
• How a node is built