ICT Decoded · Inversion Fair Value Gaps (IFVG)
What Is an Inversion Fair Value Gap (IFVG) in ICT Trading?
By Steve H — reads every firm’s official rulebook, checks prices and codes daily, and maintains the Enigma Score · Methodology · Editorial policy · Last updated October 31, 2026
ICT concepts were created and are taught by Michael J. Huddleston, The Inner Circle Trader (X · YouTube). This lesson is FundedEnigma’s own summary, not affiliated with or endorsed by ICT.
In short: An ICT inversion fair value gap (IFVG, also called an inverse fair value gap) is a fair value gap that a candle body has closed through. It failed in its original role and can now act the other way. A failed bullish gap can become resistance, a failed bearish gap support.
IFVG Explained: When a Fair Value Gap Fails and Flips Sides (ICT Inversion FVG) · 6:37 · published October 31, 2026 · part of the ICT Concepts Decoded playlist
Watch the video
The full video is embedded above this article: IFVG Explained: When a Fair Value Gap Fails and Flips Sides (ICT Inversion FVG). This page is the written version, with every chart walked through step by step. Jump to any part of the video:
Key facts: inversion fair value gaps at a glance
| Term | What it is | How it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Inversion (IFVG) | A body close beyond a gap's far edge | The gap has failed and can flip role |
| Bullish IFVG | A failed bearish gap | Can act as support |
| Bearish IFVG | A failed bullish gap | Can act as resistance |
| Not an inversion | A wick through the gap, or a close past its 50% | Filled, or an early warning |
| Sweep | Liquidity taken just before, on the side it turns away from | The first thing that makes it worth naming |
| Larger gap | A higher-timeframe gap around it that is still alive | Counts only if the inversion close does not also break it |
| Key level | A session or previous-day high or low in or at the gap | Adds weight |
| Retest | Price trades back into the old gap from the new side | Holding = closes stay on the new side |
| Failed inversion | A body close back through the far edge | Retire it |
Last verified 2026-10-31. All charts below are real historical CME NQ futures data, shown in New York time.
Here is the idea on one chart. On June 10, 2026, a rally on NQ left a bullish fair value gap, ran above the Asia high and turned. At 11:00 a fifteen-minute candle closed below the gap. At noon price came back to it and stalled, and by 15:27 it was about 400 points below that retest.
What does an inversion fair value gap mean?
It means the side that owned the gap has lost it. A bullish gap is expected to support price and a bearish gap to cap it. When price closes straight through instead, the gap has failed at that job and can act the other way.
Bullish IFVG vs bearish IFVG
A bullish IFVG is a failed bearish gap that can now act as support. A bearish IFVG is a failed bullish gap that can now act as resistance. Both work the same way, mirrored.
When does a fair value gap invert?
When a candle body closes beyond the gap's far edge: below the bottom of a bullish gap, or above the top of a bearish gap. Nothing less counts.
- A wick through the gap is not enough. Price can trade through the whole gap and still close back inside; that is a filled gap, not an inversion.
- A close past the 50% (consequent encroachment) is an early warning only. The inversion needs a body close beyond the far edge.
- Only real gaps can invert. A gap below the minimum size, or one inside a balanced range, was never an inefficiency in the first place. See the fair value gap lesson for both filters.
What makes a good IFVG?
Where it forms. Three things count: a liquidity sweep just before it, a larger gap around it, and a key level at it.
- A sweep, on the side it turns away from. A bearish inversion after buy stops above a high were taken; a bullish one after sell stops below a low were taken. See liquidity.
- A larger gap around it that is still alive, for example a five-minute inversion inside a fifteen-minute gap. One check: if the inversion candle also closes through that larger gap, it is breaking the larger gap, not forming inside it, and it does not count.
- A key level in the gap or at its edge: a session high or low, or the previous day's high or low.
| Grade | What it has | How to treat it |
|---|---|---|
| A | The sweep, plus a larger gap or a key level | The strong case |
| B | Only one of the three | The weaker case; say so |
| C | None: an inversion in the middle of nowhere | Worth little |
What is an IFVG retest?
The retest is price trading back into the old gap from its new side. While candles keep closing on the new side, the inversion is holding, and price often moves on toward the next pool of liquidity.
When is an IFVG invalid?
When a candle body closes back through its far edge. The inversion has failed: retire it and stop treating it as a level.
What do inversion fair value gaps look like on real charts?
A bullish inversion after a sell-side sweep and a bearish inversion after a buy-side sweep, both on the 15-minute chart.
Example 1: a bullish IFVG, NQ 15-minute, August 19, 2026
- The 09:30 candle has a low of 29,560.50. The 09:45 candle drops hard. The 10:00 candle's high is 29,514.25. That is a 46.25-point bearish gap.
- On the way down, price takes the London low (29,430.50) at 09:51 and bottoms at 29,375.75 at 10:15.
- The 10:30 candle closes at 29,564.00, above the top of the gap. The gap is inverted and can now act as support.
- It formed right after sell-side liquidity was taken, and the gap sits on the previous day's low (29,514.00): a sweep plus a level.
- At 10:49 price retests it, dipping to 29,527.00, and the candle closes well above, at 29,623.25.
- At 12:06 price takes the London high (29,640.75), the next pool up, and reaches 29,667.25 at 12:19. The afternoon wicks back below the gap (29,485.25 at 15:50), but through the 16:00 close no 15-minute body closes below 29,514.25.
Example 2: a bearish IFVG, NQ 15-minute, June 10, 2026
- The 09:15 candle's high is 28,891.75. The 09:30 candle rallies. The 09:45 candle's low is 28,984.00. That is a 92.25-point bullish gap.
- Price keeps going, takes the Asia high (29,169.00) at 10:23 and tops out at 29,250.00 at 10:35.
- The 10:45 candle trades through the whole gap but closes back inside it, at 28,900.25. Not inverted yet.
- The 11:00 candle closes at 28,748.75, below the gap. Now it is inverted, right after buy-side liquidity was taken, with the Asia low (28,960.00) sitting inside the gap.
- At noon price retests it, reaching 28,896.50, and closes back below. No 15-minute candle closes back above the gap through the 16:00 close, and at 15:27 price is down at 28,493.00.
How do you use inversion fair value gaps in your own charting?
Treat an inversion as a level to watch only when it forms at something significant, and judge it by the closes. A graded inversion and its retest say the side that owned the gap has lost it.
- Say which gap. Name the timeframe, both edges and what it was before it flipped.
- Say what it formed at. The sweep, the larger gap or the key level; if none, skip it.
- Pair it with the draw on liquidity and the market structure shift: after the retest, the next pool is where price often heads.
More concepts in the series are on the ICT Concepts Decoded hub. If you trade futures with a prop firm, you can look up a firm's rules on the challenges page or set two firms side by side on the compare page.
Frequently asked questions
What does IFVG stand for?
Inversion fair value gap (also written inverse fair value gap): a fair value gap that a candle body has closed through.
Is an inverse fair value gap the same as an inversion fair value gap?
Yes. Both names describe the same thing: a gap that failed and can now act the other way.
Does a wick through a fair value gap invert it?
No. A wick through the gap fills it. Only a candle body closing beyond the far edge inverts it.
Which timeframe should I use for IFVGs?
The timeframe you are reading. The examples here use 15-minute gaps; an inversion inside a larger-timeframe gap counts for more, as long as its close does not also break that larger gap.
Does every IFVG get retested?
No. Some inversions run away without a retest, and some retests fail. Judge each one by the closes that follow.
How do you trade an IFVG?
This page does not give trade signals. It shows how to recognise an inversion, grade it by where it formed and follow its retest by the closes.
Sources
- Concept: fair value gaps and their inversion as taught by ICT (The Inner Circle Trader, Michael J. Huddleston), who originated these terms. The explanation, examples and charts on this page are our own.
- Data: every chart is real historical CME Nasdaq-100 E-mini (NQ) futures data, shown in New York time.
- Video: IFVG Explained: When a Fair Value Gap Fails and Flips Sides (ICT Inversion FVG), FundedEnigma.
Last verified: 2026-10-31. Written by Steve H.
Disclaimer: This page is for education only and is not financial advice. Trading futures involves substantial risk of loss. Past price behaviour does not guarantee future results.
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