What is a Liquidity Sweep, Grab, and Run?
By now, you’ve probably learned about Order Blocks and Fair Value Gaps.
You’ve seen how smart money doesn’t chase price — it creates traps.
And one of the most common traps?
Liquidity events.
Let’s dive into what a Liquidity Sweep, Liquidity Grab, and Liquidity Run is — and see bullish and bearish examples of each.
📌 What is Liquidity?
Liquidity is where most traders place stop losses or pending orders.
These are usually stacked:
- Below swing lows (sell-side liquidity)
- Above swing highs (buy-side liquidity)
That’s where smart money hunts.
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🔎 1. Liquidity Sweep
A Liquidity Sweep is a short-term move where price breaks just above or below a recent high/low — and then reverses sharply.
It’s meant to trigger:
- Retail stop losses
- Breakout traders’ entries
✅ Bullish Sweep Example:
Price dips below a previous swing low (support), sweeping all sell-side liquidity.
Then it bounces hard upward — bullish reversal confirmed.
You enter after the sweep + confirmation (like a bullish FVG or OB).
❌ Bearish Sweep Example:
Price breaks above a previous swing high (resistance), triggering buy stops.
Then it reverses and dumps down — classic bearish sweep.
Smart money sells after the sweep, not before.
🔎 2. Liquidity Grab
A Liquidity Grab is the intentional collection of stop-loss orders or trapped retail positions.
It’s not just the wick — it’s why the wick happened.
This often happens:
- At key support/resistance zones
- Inside supply/demand imbalance
- Before institutional entries
✅ Bullish Grab Example:
Price spikes below multiple swing lows → fills smart money longs.
Then price moves fast upward, breaking structure.
This grab gives entry to longs just after stop-loss hunters hit the market.
❌ Bearish Grab Example:
Price rallies past previous highs → retail longs enter → institutions sell into it.
Price reverses violently down.
This grab creates false bullish breakouts.
🔎 3. Liquidity Run
A Liquidity Run is more aggressive.
It doesn’t just hit one level — it clears multiple liquidity zones in a single strong move, then reverses direction.
It often leads to the real trend.
✅ Bullish Run Example:
Price breaks through multiple swing lows rapidly.
Retail panic sells.
Institutions buy everything cheap.
Then price rockets upward.
This is a run of sell-side liquidity before bullish move.
❌ Bearish Run Example:
Price climbs, breaks several previous highs in a row.
Everyone goes long.
Then price tanks sharply.
A run of buy-side liquidity before major bearish reversal.
💡 Summary Table
| Concept | Bullish Example | Bearish Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sweep | Price dips below low, then reverses up | Price spikes above high, then dumps |
| Grab | Wicks below lows, then strong reversal | Breaks above highs, then reversal down |
| Run | Rapid low-clearing → bullish reversal | Rapid high-clearing → bearish drop |
📈 How to Trade Liquidity Events
- Mark equal highs/lows or support/resistance
- Wait for sweep/grab/run — don’t enter early
- Look for confirmation (FVG, OB, BOS)
- Trade in the new direction with low risk
- Avoid trading inside consolidation
Final Words
Smart money uses liquidity to trap and confuse traders.
If you can read the traps, you stop getting stopped out — and start trading with the market makers.
🔑 Patience + Confirmation = High RRR trades.
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by ugyen dorji