Master Candle Range Theory like the pros
CRT reads every candle as a range that accumulates, gets manipulated, then expands. Learn the three phases, see real EURUSD, Gold, NASDAQ and BTC examples, then grade your own CRT setup live.
Candle Range Theory says price doesn't move randomly — it builds a range, sweeps the liquidity on one side (manipulation), then expands toward the opposite side (distribution). Trade the expansion, not the trap.
See the three phases
Every CRT cycle runs Range → Manipulation → Distribution. Press play to watch it, then flip the direction.
- Range: price builds a balanced range — candle 1's high and low define the playing field.
- Manipulation: a candle sweeps beyond one edge to grab stops, then snaps back inside.
- Distribution: the real expansion fires toward the opposite quarter or extreme — that's the move you want.
Grade your setup — the CRT Trade Planner
Spotting the phases is step one. The money is in only taking the clean ones. Tick what's true on your chart and the planner scores it live — verdict, risk, and a full plan.
A+ setup
Conditions & recommendations
The checklist behind the planner. Trade ranges that meet the green column, avoid the red, and execute the same way every time.
✓Take the trade when…
- The distribution agrees with the higher-timeframe bias.
- A clean manipulation sweep grabbed liquidity beyond the range edge.
- Price rejected and closed back inside the range after the sweep.
- You enter from a quarter (0.25 / 0.75), not mid-range.
- The range is fresh — this is its first expansion.
- A FVG, order block or key level inside the range backs the entry.
- London/NY killzone, with no red-folder news due.
✕Skip / stand down when…
- You enter the manipulation candle itself (chasing the sweep).
- There was no sweep — price just drifted out of the range.
- You trade the 0.50 (equilibrium) — no edge, coin-flip.
- The range has already expanded once (no edge left).
- You fade the higher-timeframe trend with no shift.
- It's dead, low-liquidity hours, or news is inside the hour.
The execution — same every time
- Entry: buy the reversal at the 0.25 quarter (bull) / sell at 0.75 (bear) after the sweep.
- Stop: just beyond the manipulation wick (the swept extreme).
- Target: the opposite quarter / range extreme, banking partials at the 0.50.
- Risk: fixed % — A+/A 0.50%, B half, C nothing.
What each grade means
Textbook confluence. Full plan, full risk. The trades you screenshot.
Strong and tradable. Take it with full risk and a tight plan.
Marginal. Half size, or wait for one more confirmation to upgrade it.
Not enough behind it. Skip — there's always another setup.
Real chart examples
The Range → Manipulation → Distribution cycle across the markets we trade, with the entry, stop and target marked.
CRT or just chop?
Plenty of ranges look tradable but have no manipulation behind them. Decide for each before you reveal the answer.
Common mistakes
Almost every losing CRT trade comes back to one of these four.
Chasing the manipulation
Entering the sweep candle itself means you get trapped alongside the liquidity that's being run.
Trading equilibrium
Entering at the 0.50 has no directional edge — it's the middle of the range.
Ignoring the trend
Distributing against the higher-timeframe bias fights the people moving price.
No sweep, no trade
Calling every range a CRT leads to constant chop trades.
How CRT fits the rest of the method
CRT is the engine behind most of our setups: the manipulation is a liquidity sweep, the distribution often leaves a fair value gap, and the quarters line up with previous-day range levels. Stack them and the probability climbs.
Candle Range Theory FAQ
The questions traders ask most about CRT — short, straight answers.
What is Candle Range Theory (CRT)?
CRT reads price as a series of ranges that move through three phases: a range (accumulation), a manipulation sweep of liquidity on one side, and a distribution expansion toward the opposite side. You trade the distribution after the manipulation.
What are the three CRT phases?
Range, manipulation and distribution. The range builds liquidity, the manipulation sweeps one side to trap traders, and the distribution is the real move that follows — usually toward the opposite quarter or extreme.
What are CRT quarter levels?
Split a candle's range into quarters: 0.25, 0.50 (equilibrium) and 0.75. Reactions at the 0.25 and 0.75 quarters carry an edge; the 0.50 is neutral. Entries are taken from the quarters, not the middle.
What timeframe works best for CRT?
CRT is fractal and works on any timeframe, but higher timeframes (4H, Daily) give the cleanest ranges. Many traders frame the range on a higher timeframe and time the entry on a lower one.
How is CRT different from supply and demand?
Both look at zones, but CRT is built around the manipulation sweep and the quarter levels of a defined range, rather than just marking where price previously moved away from.
Can a CRT setup fail?
Yes. Price can sweep one side and keep going, or expand without a clean reversal. That's why you place a stop beyond the swept extreme and risk a fixed, small percentage.
Can beginners trade CRT?
Yes — start by only trading ranges with an obvious sweep and trend behind them, practise on demo, and use the planner above to filter for the high-probability setups.