Smart Money Gap [Algo Seeker]

Introduction – Originality and usefulness

It is important for traders to diversify their strategies, and having a few approaches for different situations is key to increasing their odds of success.

These days, substantial information and important events happen so fast and so often that all the noise created afterward makes people forget the events that were actually worth remembering.
The same can be said about trading and investing. Every day, there seems to be something new happening and new price action unfolding, which can make it difficult for traders to filter out the noise and stay focused on relevant events. But for every problem, a solution can be born.

🟠 Unique Features & Trading Benefits

The SMG aims to be a system that helps traders filter out what it deems to be irrelevant noise and stay focused on what matters most. In addition, SMG provides multiple plans and ways to act on that information.

The reason it’s called “Smart Money Gap” is because this algorithm is designed to identify the most relevant price action—whether it's earnings, an economic calendar event, a stock-specific development, major news, or institutional activity. It determines which of these situations is the most current and relevant, and it keeps the focus on that. This means that day in and day out, traders and investors can rely on a consistent plan and framework that is automatically drawn up for them, helping them trade with confidence that they’re acting on meaningful price levels. When the algorithm identifies a new event as more important, it will switch focus and build a new system around that.

SMG also goes a step further—it understands that different types of traders, such as scalpers, swing traders, or investors, have different time horizons and risk tolerance regarding how long they plan to hold a position and how much space and time they are willing to give a move. With that in mind, SMG provides different trading modes for these personas, selecting events that match the criteria needed for that specific trader.
For instance, a scalper may benefit from a smaller, more recent event that provides quick entry and exit opportunities—whereas an investor might focus on something more significant and long-term. SMG takes this into consideration and builds its entire framework accordingly.

🟠 Description of the Unique SMG (Continued) – How It Works Together as One System

The true power of SMG begins once a relevant event is identified, and the entire system is automatically displayed on the user’s chart. From that single event, SMG generates a structured framework that produces three distinct strategies. Each of these strategies takes inspiration from fundamentals within trading but gives it our own unique twist inside the SMG system. These strategies can be used individually or in combination, depending on the trader’s style and market context.

🟢 1. Filling the Smart Money Gap
One of the key opportunities is to trade the SMG itself—the “gap” created by the specific event. Gap fills are a strategy that traders and investors like to use. SMG continuously tracks how much of this unique gap has been filled, so users are never confused about how much remains. They can reference the shaded region or the percentage-left box for clarity.

🟢 2. Targeting SMG-Based Extensions and Retracements
When the SMG zone is created, the algorithm simultaneously generates extension and retracement levels tied to that event. These levels remain anchored to the original structure, providing consistent, event-driven targets. Unlike the constantly redrawn lines many traders adjust throughout the day, these levels stay fixed and reflect meaningful price action—not noise.

🟢 3. Executing Trades Based on SMG Volume
Because SMGs are tied to meaningful events, they often remain valid for an extended time. This is where Anchored VWAP becomes critical. From the moment the event occurs, SMG begins calculating volume-based data. The longer the event goes unchanged, the more powerful and influential the Anchored VWAP and its deviation bands become—due to the increasing accumulation of volume over time. These volume layers not only help refine entries and exits—they also serve as additional points of confluence where traders can place stops, take profits, or re-enter trades with greater context and confidence.

In conclusion:
SMG is designed to help traders diversify their portfolio of strategies even further. It creates an entire system that filters out noise and builds a strategy around a key event—and it will stay focused on that event until another becomes more relevant. SMG gives traders the ability to react calmly, with a plan that is automatically laid out for them. This is a special algorithm that we’ve incorporated into our approach for over three years, and we hope users will find it to be a valuable aid in their trading journey.



🟠How to Use

Initial Setup

🟢 1. Select Trading Mode:
Choose from six built-in personas—Scalp 1, Scalp 2, Swing 1, Swing 2, Invest 1, and Invest 2—based on your trading style. Each persona adjusts the SMG logic to fit the risk profile and time horizon of that specific persona.
1. Scalp: For intraday movements (minutes to hours)
  • Best used on faster charts (1-minute to 30-minute)
2. Swing: For medium-term positions (days to weeks)
  • Best used on 1-hour to daily charts
3. Investor: For longer-term positions (weeks to months)
  • Best used on 1-hour to daily charts

🟢 2. Choose SMG Update Behavior: Bar Close vs Live Update:
By default, SMG waits until all conditions are met and the bar closes before updating. This ensures confirmed structure and helps avoid noise or repainting.
If “Update Before Bar Closes?” is selected, the algorithm updates as soon as all conditions are met — even if the bar hasn’t closed yet. This allows earlier updates but may result in elements that repaint if the conditions don’t hold through the close.
Keep this setting unchecked if you prefer confirmed, non-repainting elements.

🟢 3. Visual Customization:
Customize the appearance of SMG zones, extension labels, and volume-derived levels via the “SMG Zone” and “Anchored VWAP” settings groups. This includes:
1. Zone colors and opacity
2. Label positions
3. Retracement display toggle
4. Anchored VWAP and ±1, ±2, ±3 deviation bands

Extra Notes on User Customization:
• Bull Box Color – the color used when SMG retracement is active
• Final Bull Box Color – the color used when SMG retracement is finished
• Same logic applies to Bear Box Color and Final Bear Box Color
• Retracement % Label – If the label is hard to see, it may be overlapping with the Fib labels depending on your chart zoom. To adjust, bring the Retracement % Label Indent closer to 1 to shift it left. Then increase the Fib Label Indent value to move those labels further right.

🟠  Strategic Execution

Strategy Usage Example

🟢 1. Entry & Exit Tactics Within the SMG
Use the shaded Smart Money Gap as a decision-making framework. Traders may choose to:
1. Fade a retracement (shorting or exiting as price retraces into the SMG)
2. Enter on signs of continuation (rejoining the move after a partial retrace)
3. Wait for the gap to fill completely and reverse
Volume-weighted Anchored VWAP levels add an additional layer—helping assess whether price is entering or rejecting volume consensus zones.

🟢 2. Extension Targeting:
When price resumes in the original direction, SMG plots potential extension levels. These can be used to:
1 Set take-profit or stop-loss targets
2. Spot exhaustion areas
3 Evaluate whether to scale in, take partial profits, or re-enter a position

🟢 3. Volume-Based Execution via Anchored VWAP:
For traders looking to incorporate volume into execution—especially when an SMG has remained active for an extended period—Anchored VWAP and its deviation bands can be used to:
1. Confirm direction or momentum via VWAP slope and interaction
2. Enter or fade positions at volume-backed levels
3. Set dynamic entries or exits as volume builds or thins across deviations

⚠️Optional Update Behavior: Bar Close vs Live Update
By default, SMG waits until all conditions are met and the bar closes before updating. This ensures confirmed structure and helps avoid noise or repainting.
If “Update Before Bar Closes?” is selected, the algorithm updates as soon as all conditions are met — even if the bar hasn’t closed yet. This allows earlier updates but may result in elements that repaint if the conditions don’t hold through the close.
Keep this setting unchecked if you prefer confirmed, non-repainting elements.

⚠️ Interpreting Anchored VWAP Behavior
Anchored VWAP and its deviation bands become more relevant with time as they widen and separate. While tight and accumulating near price, it may be worth holding off on using VWAP for entries or exits until expansion begins.



🟠 Additional Description – SMG Table Overview
The SMG table presents four key pieces of information to help traders quickly understand the current setup at a glance:
1) If the Algo is set for dynamic or bar close
2) Which trading mode they currently have selected
3) What type of SMG gap is displayed
4) how much of the Retracement is done

🟠 Additional Benefits:

🟢 1. Risk Profile Options
Trading personas allow users to instantly switch between different risk profiles—Scalp, Swing, or Investor—at the click of a button. This helps traders quickly align the system to their preferred holding period and risk tolerance without reconfiguring inputs.

🟢2. Time Efficiency
SMG saves traders time by creating a complete system around each Smart Money Gap. From gap logic to retracement tracking, extension targets, and volume levels—everything needed to trade the SMG is generated at once, eliminating the need for manual setup or separate tools.

The Smart Money Gap represents years of development and refinement aimed at creating a unified, event-driven trading system. It was designed to help traders manage through the constant noise of the market, and we hope that traders benefit from having an additional tool to support and diversify their trading strategy.