ICT Decoded · Power of three (AMD)
What Is the ICT Power of Three (AMD)?
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: The ICT power of three (also called AMD, or PO3) splits a daily candle into three parts: accumulation, a range that builds stops on both sides; manipulation, a false run of one side against the day's direction; and distribution, the real move to the draw. The range, the wick and the body of the candle.
The ICT Power of 3 Explained: Is It Manipulation, or Is Your Bias Wrong? · 7:17 · published October 31, 2026 · part of the ICT Concepts Decoded playlist
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The full video is embedded above this article: The ICT Power of 3 Explained: Is It Manipulation, or Is Your Bias Wrong?. This page is the written version, with every chart walked through step by step. Jump to any part of the video:
Key facts: the power of three at a glance
| Term | What it is | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Power of three (AMD, PO3) | The three parts of a daily candle: accumulation, manipulation, distribution | The whole futures day, New York time |
| Accumulation | A range where stops build on both sides | Often the Asia range, 8 PM to midnight |
| Manipulation | A false run of one side of the range, against the daily bias; ICT also calls it the Judas swing | Often around the London killzone, 2-5 AM; it becomes the wick |
| Distribution | The expansion to the draw: yesterday's high on a bullish day, yesterday's low on a bearish one | Often through the New York session; it becomes the body |
| Midnight open | The price at midnight, New York time | The day's reference: bullish manipulation trades below it, distribution ends well above it |
| Three checks | Yesterday's 50% holds, a CISD or shift on the 5-minute chart, price back through the midnight open | Before you call a run against you a manipulation |
Last verified 2026-10-31. All charts below are real historical CME NQ futures data, shown in New York time. "Yesterday" is the previous CME session, 6 PM to 5 PM New York time.
Here is the idea on one chart. On August 8, 2025, the read before the session was bullish. Overnight, price ranged quietly. Then, before 2 AM, it dropped under that range, and that drop was the low of the day. Price never traded lower that session: it took yesterday's high at 10:10 and closed near the high of the day.
What are accumulation, manipulation and distribution?
ICT (Michael J. Huddleston) describes a daily candle in three parts: first a range where orders build up (accumulation), then a false move out of it against the day's real direction (manipulation, the wick), then the real move toward the day's draw (distribution, the body). On a bullish day that is the open, low, high, close shape from the daily bias lesson: the manipulation is the low that comes first.
What is accumulation in the power of three?
Accumulation is usually the Asia range: the high and low from 8 PM to midnight, New York time. Price moves sideways and stops build up on both sides: buy stops above the Asia high, sell stops below the Asia low. See liquidity.
What is manipulation, or the Judas swing?
Manipulation is the run of one side of that range against your daily bias: on a bullish day a run below the Asia low, on a bearish day a run above the Asia high. It often comes around the London killzone, 2 to 5 AM. ICT also calls it the Judas swing: the move that looks like the day's direction, and is not.
What is distribution?
Distribution is the expansion that follows: price comes back through the range, runs the other side and heads for the draw, yesterday's high on a bullish day or yesterday's low on a bearish one. That leg often runs through the New York session.
What is the midnight open?
The midnight open is the price at midnight, New York time, and it is the reference for the day. On a bullish power of three the manipulation trades below it and the distribution ends well above it; on a bearish day, the mirror.
How do you tell manipulation from a wrong bias?
A run against your bias can be a manipulation or the first sign the bias is wrong, and in the moment they look the same. Check three things before you call it manipulation.
- Yesterday's 50% holds. The run should stay on the right side of yesterday's 50%, the line from the daily bias lesson.
- The 5-minute chart turns. The run should end with a change in state of delivery or a market structure shift back in the direction of the bias.
- Price gets back through the midnight open. Until then, it is just a run against you.
What does the power of three look like on real charts?
A bullish day and a bearish day, each read from the daily chart first, then followed through the Asia range, London and New York.
Example 1: a bullish power of three, NQ, August 8, 2025
- On August 7, 2025, price closes above the August 6 high. Displacement: the read for the 8th is bullish, and the draw is the August 7 high at 23,671.00.
- Yesterday's 50% is 23,500.00. The Asia range runs from 23,528.50 to 23,583.00.
- The midnight open is 23,553.00. That is the accumulation.
- By 1:58 AM, just before London, price has run the Asia low, down to 23,503.00: below the midnight open, and three points above yesterday's 50%. That is the manipulation.
- On the 5-minute chart, the 2:20 candle closes above the open of the down candles that made the low: a change in state of delivery. At 2:25, the shift. At 2:31, price is back above the midnight open.
- Then distribution. Price takes the Asia high at 9:40, yesterday's high at 10:10, and closes the session at 23,765.50, near the high of the day.
Example 2: a bearish power of three, NQ, July 18, 2024
- On July 17, 2024, price closes below the July 16 low. Displacement: the read for the 18th is bearish, and the draw is the July 17 low at 19,965.75.
- The Asia range runs from 20,025.00 to 20,080.00. The midnight open is 20,051.25.
- At 2:01, as London opens, price runs the Asia high, and at 2:50 it reaches 20,162.50: above the midnight open, and far below yesterday's 50% at 20,281.75. That is the manipulation.
- On the 5-minute chart, the 3:15 candle closes below the open of the run of up candles that led into the high: a change in state of delivery. By 3:30, price is back below the midnight open.
- At 9:06 it comes back up to exactly that high, but it does not trade above it.
- At 10:34 it takes yesterday's low, and at 3:14 PM it reaches 19,758.75: open, high, low, close.
How often does the power of three work?
We checked 290 NQ sessions with a clear daily read whose draw was still open at midnight, from June 2024 to September 2026. On the days the draw was reached, about three in five had the power of three shape (the opposite extreme before 10 AM, on the far side of the midnight open); on the days it was not, about three in ten.
- A run against the read is not proof. When the first run of the Asia range went against the read, the draw was reached on only a little over one day in three.
- Yesterday's 50% matters. When that run stayed on the right side of yesterday's 50%, the draw was reached on about two in three, though that is only 33 days; when it traded through the 50%, under one in three.
- Easy to see after the close, harder in the moment. Treat the manipulation as something price has to prove.
How do you use the power of three in your own charting?
Use it to describe the day you expect, then let price prove each part before you lean on it.
- Start from the daily bias. The power of three only has a direction once you know the draw.
- Expect the wick first. A run against you around London is normal on many days that go your way.
- Run the three checks. Without them, a run against you is just a run against you.
- It works inside a four-hour candle too. The same three parts can show up there; see intraday bias.
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
Is the power of three the same as AMD?
Yes. AMD stands for accumulation, manipulation and distribution, the three parts of the power of three. PO3 is a common short name.
Does the manipulation always happen in London?
No. It often comes around the London killzone, 2 to 5 AM, but it can come earlier or later; in the first example on this page it came at 1:58 AM.
What if price never runs the Asia range?
Then there is no clear manipulation of that range. On our data that was rare: 3 of 290 sessions.
Can the power of three be bearish?
Yes. On a bearish day the manipulation runs above the Asia high and above the midnight open, and the distribution runs down to yesterday's low: open, high, low, close.
Is the power of three a trade signal?
No. It is a way to describe and check the day, not an entry. This page does not give trade signals.
Sources
- Concept: the power of three (accumulation, manipulation, distribution), the Judas swing and the midnight open as taught by ICT (The Inner Circle Trader, Michael J. Huddleston), who originated these ideas. The explanation, examples and charts on this page are our own.
- Data: every chart and the 290-session count are real historical CME Nasdaq-100 E-mini (NQ) futures data, shown in New York time.
- Video: The ICT Power of 3 Explained: Is It Manipulation, or Is Your Bias Wrong?, 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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