Order blocks on M1: real edge or chart clutter?

[FXS London Scalper]

I gave order blocks an honest two-month try on M1 for EURUSD and GBPUSD. Here is where I ended up.

The idea is reasonable: the last opposite candle before a strong move marks an area where large orders sat, and price may react when it returns. On higher timeframes I can see why traders like it.

On M1, my problems were:

• Too many of them. By mid-session every chart had eight or ten "valid" blocks. If everything is a level, nothing is.
• Definition drift. Is it the body or the wick? The last candle or the last two? I noticed I picked the version that fit the trade I already wanted.
• Spread swallows the reaction. Many M1 reactions were 2–4 pips. After costs, that is barely anything.

What did work a little: only marking a block when it also lines up with a level I'd have drawn anyway, such as the Asian high, the previous day's close or a round number. At that point, though, I'm not sure the order block adds anything.

So my current view is that on M1 it is mostly clutter, unless you have a strict mechanical definition and you've tested it.

If you use them on low timeframes, how do you define them, and did you test that definition or adopt it from a video?