Advanced Order Blocks — User Manual (Part 2)

Advanced Order Blocks (v1.88) — User Manual & Playbook (Part 2)

Developed by - Algo Theory Studio

This is Part 2 of the official manual. If you have not read the core theory covering Zone Types, Breaker Blocks, and Liquidity Pools, [read Part 1 here first].

📺 [Watch the Full Advanced OB Video Tutorial on YouTube] 

🛒 [Get the FREE Advanced Order Blocks Indicator for MT5] 

🛒 [Get the FREE Advanced Order Blocks Indicator for MT4] 

Every setting below matches the exact label, default value, and group exactly as it appears in the indicator's own Inputs tab, in the same order. Where a setting is covered in depth elsewhere in the manual, the relevant section is noted. Bold defaults flag settings whose default is easy to assume wrong.

9.1 General

Setting	Default	Notes
Color Mode: Light | Dark	Light	Remaps 4 specific default colors only, not a full theme — Part8.2
Style: Colored | Monochrome	Colored	Two fixed gray shades replace all custom colors when Monochrome — Part8.3
Zone Opacity %	50	General opacity used by most zones — Part8.1

9.2 Structure Detection

Setting	Default	Notes
Internal Structure Lookback	5 (min 2)	Pivot lookback for Internal structure — Part2.1 & Part2.2
Confluence Filter	On	Internal-only breakout wick-shape filter — Part2.4
Confluence Wick Ratio	1.0	0 = disabled, higher = stricter — Part2.4
Internal CHoCH Min Body-Close Ratio	0.0 (disabled)	Extra conviction filter, Internal CHoCH breaks only — Part2.4
Swing Lookback Length	50 (min 10)	Pivot lookback for Swing structure — Part2.1 & Part2.2
Break Confirmation: Close | High/Low	Close	Close mode's single-candle transition window — Part2.4
Min Break Distance (ATR multiples)	0.0 (disabled)	Applies to both BOS and CHoCH — Part2.4
Min Bars Before Pivot Can Be Broken	1	— Part2.4
Swing CHoCH Min Body-Close Ratio	0.0 (disabled)	Swing equivalent of the Internal CHoCH filter above

9.3 Order Blocks

Setting	Default	Notes
Internal Order Blocks	On	Master toggle for the Internal OB lens
Internal OB Max Count	5 (1-20)	Oldest drops off once exceeded
Internal Bullish OB Color	Pale Green
Internal Bearish OB Color	Light Salmon
Swing Order Blocks	On	Master toggle for the Swing OB lens
Swing OB Max Count	5 (1-20)
Swing Bullish OB Color	Pale Green
Swing Bearish OB Color	Light Salmon
OB Volatility Filter	ATR	ATR = fixed 200-period ATR; Range = expanding all-history average — Part4.4
High-Vol Bar ATR Multiplier	2.0	Threshold for excluding spike candles from OB selection — Part4.4
OB Mitigation Source	High/Low	Shared by OB, Breaker re-break, and Rejection break checks — Part4.3
Show Order Block Labels	On
Label text color	NONE (auto)	Auto-picks black or white by chart background brightness when left NONE
Label Text Size	6 (6-24)
Label Offset From Latest Bar	50 bars	Shared by every zone type's labels — Part8.4
Use Midline Label While Zone Age <= This	60 bars	— Part8.4

9.4 Mitigated Order Blocks

Setting	Default	Notes
Show Mitigated OBs	Off	Off = touched OBs keep their normal active color, no visual cue — Part4.2
Mitigated Bullish OB Color	Silver	Only visible if the above is on
Mitigated Bearish OB Color	Silver
Mitigated Zone Opacity %	15	Overrides the general Zone Opacity for this state

9.5 Breaker Blocks

Setting	Default	Notes
Show Breaker Blocks	On	Master toggle — Part5.1
Internal Breaker Max Count	5 (1-20)
Swing Breaker Max Count	5 (1-20)
Bullish Breaker Color	Pale Green
Bearish Breaker Color	Light Salmon
Remove Breaker When Re-Broken	On	— Part5.2
Max Breaker Width (bars)	500 (0=disabled)	An age limit despite the name — Part5.3
Show Breaker Labels	On

9.6 Rejection Blocks (Swing)

Setting	Default	Notes
Show Rejection Blocks	On	Swing structure only, no Internal equivalent — Part6.1
Min Wick-to-Opposite-Wick Ratio	2.0	— Part6.1
Min Wick Size (ATR multiples)	0.5	— Part6.1
Require Alignment With Swing Trend Bias	On	— Part6.2
Rejection Block Max Count	5 (1-20)
Bullish Rejection Color	Teal
Bearish Rejection Color	Crimson
Show Rejection Labels	On

9.7 Liquidity Pools

Setting	Default	Notes
Internal Liquidity Pools (BSL/SSL)	Off	The only Internal-lens toggle in the whole indicator that defaults off — likely because every Internal pivot would  otherwise spawn a band
Internal LP Max Count	5 (1-20)
Internal Buyside Liquidity (BSL) Color	Light Salmon
Internal Sellside Liquidity (SSL) Color	Pale Green
Swing Liquidity Pools (BSL/SSL)	On
Swing LP Max Count	5 (1-20)
Swing Buyside Liquidity (BSL) Color	Light Salmon
Swing Sellside Liquidity (SSL) Color	Pale Green
LP Sweep Source: Close | High/Low	High/Low	Active→Swept only; Swept→Flipped is always Close regardless — Part7.4
Equal High/Low Merge Tolerance (ATR)	0.1 (0=disabled)	— Part7.2
Zone Thickness (ATR multiples)	1.00	— Part7.1
Show Liquidity Pool Labels	On
Append Equal-Pivot Count To Label	On	The "(x2)" suffix — Part7.2

9.8 Liquidity Pools: Swept

Setting	Default	Notes
Show Swept/Flipped Liquidity Pools	On	Off deletes a pool the instant it leaves Active — Part7.5
Swept Zone Opacity %	35
Swept Pool Max Age Before Flip (bars)	500 (0=disabled)

9.9 Liquidity Pools: Flipped

Setting	Default	Notes
Flipped Bullish Color (BSL → Support)	Pale Green
Flipped Bearish Color (SSL → Resistance)	Light Salmon
Flipped Zone Max Age (bars)	500 (0=disabled)

9.10 Alerts

Notification Methods

Setting	Default	Notes
Popup Alert (Terminal Window)	On
Push Notification (Mobile)	Off	Requires a MetaQuotes ID configured in the Terminal
Email Alert	Off	Requires SMTP set in Terminal Options

Order Blocks

Setting	Default	Notes
Price Enters Internal OB	Off
Price Enters Swing OB	Off

Liquidity Pools

Setting	Default	Notes
Liquidity Pool Swept (BSL/SSL)	Off

10.1 Notification Methods

Three independent delivery channels — any combination can be on at once, and every enabled channel fires for the same event:

• Popup Alert — the standard MT5 terminal Alert() popup and sound.
• Push Notification — sent to the MetaTrader mobile app; requires a MetaQuotes ID linked under Terminal settings.
• Email Alert — requires SMTP configured under Terminal → Options first.

10.2 Order Block Entry Alerts

Price Enters Internal OB / Price Enters Swing OB fires once price first trades into an Order Block — specifically, the candle's wick reaches the zone and its close is still within/beyond it in the expected direction.

Worth knowing: this check is fixed and does not follow the "OB Mitigation Source" setting from see4.3 — it always uses this same wick-plus-close combination, regardless of what that setting is.

10.3 Liquidity Sweep Alerts

Liquidity Pool Swept (BSL/SSL) fires the moment a pool transitions Active → Swept (see Part7.3) — separately for Internal BSL, Internal SSL, Swing BSL, and Swing SSL.

10.4 Startup Alert Behavior

The moment the indicator is first attached (or the chart/history reloads), it runs one immediate check: is price currently sitting inside an existing Internal/Swing OB right now? If so, it fires that alert immediately, once, per matching zone.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. How to Use / Trading Application

The reads below reflect common Smart Money Concepts practice, combined with specifics unique to how this indicator builds and manages its zones. Treat this as context for interpreting what you're seeing, not a guarantee of what price does next.

11.1 Internal vs. Swing — Matching the Lens to Your Style

Internal's shorter lookback means more frequent, less selective zones — more signals, more noise, generally suited to shorter holding periods and tighter entries.

Swing's longer lookback means fewer, higher-conviction zones — generally suited to swing/position holding periods.

11.2 Reading Order Blocks

A fresh, untouched OB is generally weighted more heavily than one price has already tapped — a Mitigated OB has already had part of its imbalance absorbed.

Indicator-specific nuance: the OB candle chosen here isn't always simply "the last opposite candle" the way some simpler tools define it — the volatility filter (see Part4.4) can skip an oversized spike candle and anchor to the next one instead. If you're cross-checking this against a different OB tool and the zone doesn't line up, check for a high-volatility candle in that range before assuming a bug.

11.3 Reading Order Block + Breaker Together

A Breaker forming is commonly read as the point an OB's premise is fully over, not just weakened — the level's role has reversed. Some traders watch a retest of a fresh Breaker as an opportunity in the new, flipped direction.

11.4 Reading Rejection Blocks

Because a Rejection Block doesn't require a structure break (see Part6.1), it can appear even when nothing else on the chart is signaling a change — often watched as an early, single-candle reversal cue at a swing extreme, especially where it lines up with an approaching Liquidity Pool.

11.5 Reading Liquidity Pools

BuySide Liquidity/SellSide Liquidity (BSL/SSL) mark where resting stop and breakout orders are assumed to cluster. The common read: price is often drawn toward these levels to run those orders before reversing — so a level that Sweeps and then Flips is typically watched as a possible reversal/support-resistance zone, not as confirmation of a breakout continuing.

Only a Flipped pool is exempt from being hidden behind an overlapping OB/Breaker/Rejection zone (see Part7.6) — a reasonable sign that the indicator itself treats a Flipped level as the more chart-worthy state.

11.6 Combining Zones for Confluence

An area where an Internal OB, a Swing OB, and/or a Liquidity Pool all overlap is generally read as stronger than any single zone alone — independent structural readings agreeing on the same price.

11.7 A Few More Worth Knowing

• Nothing acts on live price. Every zone, state change, and alert waits for a candle to fully close (see Part1.3). Don't expect a zone or alert mid-candle.
• One shared ATR underlies every "ATR multiples" setting — Min Break Distance, Rejection wick size, the High-Vol Bar filter, LP tolerance and thickness (Part4.4) all reference the same fixed 200-period ATR. Tightening one doesn't change the yardstick the others use; they're independent multipliers of one shared, non-adjustable base.
• Zone counts are capped. Max Count settings (Part 9) mean older zones quietly drop off once a newer one pushes past the limit. If zones seem to be "missing" further back on the chart, check the relevant Max Count before assuming something's broken.
• Internal Liquidity Pools default off (see Part9.7) while every other Internal toggle defaults on. If you're expecting Internal BSL/SSL bands and don't see any, this is very likely why.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. Known Limitations / Notes

12.1 Object Count Limits

Every zone category — Internal/Swing OB, Internal/Swing Breaker, Rejection, Internal/Swing LP — has its own Max Count setting (Part 9), and that's the only cap; there's no separate hidden internal limit behind it. Once a new zone pushes a category past its count, the oldest zone in that specific category is dropped silently, with no warning or alert. Each category counts independently — hitting the Internal OB cap has no effect on how many Swing OBs, Breakers, or LPs can exist at the same time.

12.2 Performance & Chart Clutter

With every zone type enabled across both lenses, a single chart is maintaining up to seven independent sets of zones (Internal OB, Swing OB, Internal Breaker, Swing Breaker, Rejection, Internal LP, Swing LP) plus their labels, all re-evaluated on every new closed bar. On a fast-moving symbol or a lower timeframe, that's a genuinely large number of chart objects being created, merged, or deleted continuously.

If you notice clutter or any chart lag: lower the Max Count settings first (Part 9), or disable zone types you're not actively using. Internal Liquidity Pools default off for exactly this reason (see Part9.7) — Rejection Blocks or Breaker Blocks are reasonable candidates to turn off too if your approach doesn't rely on them.

12.3 SMC Concepts Not included in this indicator

• No BOS/CHoCH lines or labels — calculated internally, never drawn (see Part 1.2, 2.3).
• No premium/discount (equilibrium) zones, no Fibonacci tools, no Fair Value Gaps/imbalances (see Part 1.2).
• No Fair Value Gaps (FVG) / Inverted Fair Value Gaps (iFVG). - To be considered in future version update.
• No Equal Highs/Lows lines or label — calculated internally, never drawn.
• No Previous Day/Week/Month High/Low

• No multi-timeframe overlay — everything runs on the single timeframe the chart is set to (see Part1.2 & Part2.1).
• No trade execution of any kind — this is a visual analysis tool only. It never places, modifies, or closes an order.
• No built-in statistics — no win-rate, hit-rate, or historical performance reporting on its own zones. What's on the chart is the full output; there's no summary panel behind it.