ICT Reclaimed Order Block — Theory, Bullish & Bearish Setups + Free PDF

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A reclaimed order block is an essential part of the ICT trading strategy and is rooted in the Market Maker model. It is the candle (or zone) where institutional traders accumulate positions by hedging — and later, when price returns to that zone, the block is reclaimed and acts as support or resistance to push price higher or lower.

Before diving deep into the ICT reclaimed order block, you should be familiar with the ICT Market Maker Buy Model and the ICT Market Maker Sell Model. The reclaimed OB sits inside that broader framework.

This guide is part of the ICT Order Block family on this site. The parent ICT Order Block guide covers the framework. The bullish and bearish sub-pillars are Bullish OB and Bearish OB. Other OB-derivatives include the propulsion block, breaker block, mitigation block and rejection block.

In this guide I walk you through the reclaimed order block — the meaning, the curve theory, the bullish and bearish setups, common mistakes and the free PDF download.

What is an ICT Reclaimed Order Block?

Reclaimed order blocks are the areas where institutional traders accumulate their positions by hedging, and the market shows a minor displacement at that area.

Later on, these blocks are reclaimed and act as support or resistance to push price up or down.

As you know, the market moves like a curve and it has two sides.

(I) Buy side of the curve.

(II) Sell side of the curve.

In the case of the Market Maker Buy Model, the reclaimed order blocks are found on the sell side of the curve — where smart money accumulates buy positions before the market moves higher.

In the case of the Market Maker Sell Model, reclaimed order blocks are found on the buy side of the curve — where institutional traders accumulate sell positions before the market moves down.

Bullish Reclaimed Order Block

A bullish reclaimed order block is a candlestick that was previously used to buy price, and a short-term bounce confirms the minor displacement.

Bullish reclaimed order blocks are identifiable in the Market Maker Buy Model — when the market is in a bullish trend and, before moving higher, it moves down to sweep liquidity and approach a higher-timeframe PD array.

In this scenario, when the market moves down before approaching the higher-timeframe PD array, smart money starts to accumulate buy positions.

Because they have deep pockets and large orders that cannot be fulfilled in a single transaction, they accumulate their positions by hedging on the sell side of the curve.

A bullish reclaimed order block is the last down-closed candle before the minor displacement, followed by an upward move on the sell side of the curve.

In the picture above you can see when price moves higher after shifting its momentum to the buy side, it reclaims the old block created on the sell side of the curve.

These blocks support price to move higher.

In fact, smart money uses these blocks again to enter the market and add to their long positions.

Bearish Reclaimed Order Block

A bearish reclaimed order block is a candlestick that was previously used to sell price, and a short-term decline confirms the minor displacement.

These are identifiable in the Market Maker Sell Model. Before moving down, price moves up to approach a higher-timeframe PD array, which is called the buy side of the curve.

During the buy side of the curve, institutional traders (with deep pockets and large orders) start to accumulate their short orders, which create a short decline with minor displacement.

A bearish reclaimed order block is the last up-closed candlestick before the minor displacement, followed by a decline on the buy side of the curve.

Smart money uses these blocks during the sell side of the curve to add to their short positions.

In the picture above you can see the old blocks acting as resistance and pushing price downward.

Step-by-Step Reclaimed Order Block Trade Flow

This is the exact sequence I run when trading a reclaimed order block.

1. Confirm the Market Maker model. Bullish setup — Market Maker Buy Model. Bearish setup — Market Maker Sell Model.
2. Identify the curve direction. Buy-side curve (price approaching the higher-timeframe PD array on the way up) or sell-side curve (price approaching the PD array on the way down).
3. Mark the higher-timeframe PD array. Order block, FVG or breaker on the daily or H4.
4. Watch for accumulation candles. Multiple small-bodied candles with minor displacement — institutional hedging in progress.
5. Identify the reclaimed OB candle. Bullish — the last down-closed candle before the minor displacement on the sell-side curve. Bearish — the last up-closed candle before the minor displacement on the buy-side curve.
6. Wait for the reclaim. Price must shift momentum and return to the reclaimed OB candle on the opposite-side curve.
7. Drop to the lower timeframe. 5-minute or 1-minute for the entry trigger and confirmation.
8. Enter on the retest. Buy at the reclaimed OB on a bullish setup; sell at the reclaimed OB on a bearish setup.
9. Set the stop. Below the low of the reclaimed OB (bullish) or above the high (bearish), with a small buffer.
10. Take profit at the next draw on liquidity. Old high/low, relative equal level or higher-timeframe FVG.

Best Markets for the Reclaimed Order Block

The reclaimed order block works on every market that the ICT methodology is applied to.

• NQ (NASDAQ futures) and ES (S&P 500 futures) — Market Maker Buy/Sell Model setups print very cleanly on US indices and reclaimed OBs deliver textbook retest entries.
• GBP/USD and EUR/USD — major forex pairs make the curve structure visible across the London-NY overlap, with reclaimed OBs forming on either side.
• XAU/USD (Gold) — reclaimed OBs around US 08:30 ET news releases deliver some of the largest reward-to-risk setups on the chart.

For traders in the United States who follow the CFTC FIFO and no-hedge rules, NQ and ES are the most natural fit for the reclaimed OB. The 09:50 NY-AM macro window often delivers the reclaim of an earlier-session OB inside the Market Maker model — making the setup especially time-efficient on US-session trading.

Does Every ICT Reclaimed Order Block Work?

Not every ICT reclaimed order block is tradeable. Before taking any trade based on a reclaimed order block, look for extra confirmations on the lower timeframe — typically a Market Structure Shift, an SMT divergence on a correlated pair, or a fair value gap formed during the reclaim move.

Never risk more than 1% of your capital on a single trade setup.

Common Mistakes Trading the Reclaimed Order Block

These are the recurring mistakes I see when traders first start trading reclaimed OBs.

1. Trading reclaimed OBs without the Market Maker model. The reclaimed OB is defined inside the Market Maker Buy/Sell Model curve. Without that broader context, the candle is just an order block — the “reclaim” classification has no meaning.
2. Wrong side of the curve. Bullish reclaimed OBs sit on the sell side of the curve. Bearish reclaimed OBs sit on the buy side. Reversing the side inverts the entire setup.
3. No lower-timeframe confirmation. The reclaim retest alone is not the entry. A 5-minute or 1-minute MSS at the reclaimed OB is the trigger.
4. Stop too tight. Stops parked at the body high/low of the reclaimed OB get hunted on the wick. Leave a small buffer.
5. Trading every old order block. Most order blocks do not get reclaimed in the technical Market-Maker-model sense. The reclaimed OB requires the explicit hedging-and-displacement footprint, not every retraced OB.
6. Risking more than 1%. Even high-conviction reclaimed OBs fail occasionally. The 1% per trade rule keeps you in the game through the inevitable losing streaks.

ICT Reclaimed Order Block PDF Download

You can download below ICT reclaimed order block in PDF for free. This PDF is sponsored by ICTPDF.COM.

To learn the complete ICT Trading strategy step by step, you can buy the ICT Trading PDF eBook on ICTPDF.COM.

FAQs about the ICT Reclaimed Order Block

Brief answers to the questions readers ask most often about the reclaimed OB.

What is a reclaimed order block?

A reclaimed order block is a candle or zone where institutional traders accumulated positions by hedging, with a minor displacement marking the accumulation. When price returns to the zone on a later leg, the block is “reclaimed” and acts as support (bullish) or resistance (bearish) for the next directional move.

How is the reclaimed OB different from a regular order block?

A regular order block is the last opposite-coloured candle before a strong impulse. A reclaimed order block is specifically tied to the Market Maker Buy/Sell Model — it sits on the opposite side of the curve from where the actual move is taken, and the “reclaim” happens when price returns to it during the directional leg.

What is the bullish reclaimed order block?

The bullish reclaimed OB is the last down-closed candle before a minor displacement on the sell side of the curve in a Market Maker Buy Model. Smart money accumulates long positions at this candle and price reclaims it on the way up.

What is the bearish reclaimed order block?

The bearish reclaimed OB is the last up-closed candle before a minor displacement on the buy side of the curve in a Market Maker Sell Model. Smart money accumulates short positions at this candle and price reclaims it on the way down.

Where do I enter a reclaimed OB trade?

At the body of the reclaimed OB candle on the retest, ideally with a lower-timeframe MSS confirmation on the 5-minute or 1-minute chart.

Where is the stop loss?

Below the low of the reclaimed OB (bullish) or above the high (bearish), with a small buffer.

Where is the take profit?

The next draw-on-liquidity in the trade direction — typically a relative equal high/low, the prior session high/low or an unfilled higher-timeframe FVG.

Does every reclaimed OB work?

No — not every reclaimed OB is tradeable. Always wait for lower-timeframe confirmation (MSS, SMT or FVG) before taking the entry, and never risk more than 1% per trade.

What is the difference between reclaimed OB and breaker block?

A breaker block is a failed order block that has been broken and now acts as the opposite zone (a flipped role). A reclaimed OB is a successful accumulation zone that gets reclaimed on the way to the directional target — it is not a flipped role; it remains support/resistance in the same direction.

Does the reclaimed OB work on indices and gold?

Yes — NQ, ES and XAU/USD produce textbook reclaimed OB setups inside Market Maker Buy/Sell Model patterns, especially during the New York AM session.

How does the curve concept work?

The market moves like a curve with two sides. The buy side is the upward leg of the curve, the sell side is the downward leg. In a Market Maker Buy Model, smart money accumulates buy positions on the sell side of the curve before pushing price up. The reclaim happens when price moves through the buy side and revisits the candles where the accumulation occurred.