Sweeps, stop raids & inducement

A liquidity sweep (or stop raid) is when price spikes through a pool — grabbing the stops — and then snaps back. It's the single most important trigger in Smart Money Concepts, and the reason so many "perfect" breakouts fail.

The anatomy of a sweep:

1. Price approaches an obvious high (buy-side liquidity).
2. It wicks through, triggering the stops and breakout buyers.
3. There's no follow-through — instead, a strong reversal (often with displacement and a Change of Character).
4. The trapped traders now fuel the move the other way.

Inducement is the setup's bait. Smart money often engineers a tempting move — a small obvious high, a clean trendline — to lure breakout traders in, precisely so their stops become the liquidity for the real move. The move that looks like your entry is frequently the inducement for someone else's.

How to use it. Don't enter into a pool — that's where you become the liquidity. Wait for the sweep, then for structure to shift, then enter on the reaction. "Liquidity sweep before entry" is a core confluence for a reason: it flips you from prey to predator.