Two levels a few pips apart: one zone or two?
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2026 6:25 pm
Two levels a few pips apart: one zone or two?
This comes up all the time. You've got a previous day high at one price, and a session high or round number a few pips above it. Do you treat them as one zone, or two separate levels?
If you treat them separately, you'll often see price react at the first, pause, then push to the second and react again. That can be useful, but it can also mean you get stopped out between the two, because your stop sat right where price was always going to visit.
If you combine them into one zone, you accept a slightly fuzzier entry and put your stop beyond both. That's usually safer, but the stop is wider and you might need smaller size.
My rough rule: if the gap between the two levels is smaller than the typical M5 candle range at that time of day, I combine them. Price can cover that in one candle anyway, so pretending they're separate doesn't help. If the gap is bigger, I treat them as separate and expect price to visit the further one before I consider the zone done.
There's also a liquidity angle. Two levels close together means stops are stacked in a small area, which makes it a more likely target. So I'm a bit more careful fading the first level when a second sits just behind it.
This comes up all the time. You've got a previous day high at one price, and a session high or round number a few pips above it. Do you treat them as one zone, or two separate levels?
If you treat them separately, you'll often see price react at the first, pause, then push to the second and react again. That can be useful, but it can also mean you get stopped out between the two, because your stop sat right where price was always going to visit.
If you combine them into one zone, you accept a slightly fuzzier entry and put your stop beyond both. That's usually safer, but the stop is wider and you might need smaller size.
My rough rule: if the gap between the two levels is smaller than the typical M5 candle range at that time of day, I combine them. Price can cover that in one candle anyway, so pretending they're separate doesn't help. If the gap is bigger, I treat them as separate and expect price to visit the further one before I consider the zone done.
There's also a liquidity angle. Two levels close together means stops are stacked in a small area, which makes it a more likely target. So I'm a bit more careful fading the first level when a second sits just behind it.