Price Action/Liquidity Grabs and Stop Hunts

Liquidity Grabs and Stop Hunts

A liquidity grab, or stop hunt, is a quick push beyond an obvious high or low that triggers resting stop orders, followed by a sharp reversal the other way. It traps breakout traders right before the real move.

By the ExecutionIQ team · Updated June 2026

Liquidity Grabs and Stop Hunts price actionPrior lowGrab

What liquidity grabs and stop hunts means

Stops cluster just beyond obvious swing highs and lows, which is exactly where larger players can find the liquidity to fill orders. Price spikes through the level, sweeps those stops, then reverses, leaving a long wick that pierced the level and closed back inside.

How liquidity grabs and stop hunts is traded

  • Watch obvious highs and lows as the levels most likely to be swept.
  • Look for a quick poke beyond the level that closes back inside as the tell.
  • Enter on the reversal after the sweep, with a stop just beyond the wick.
  • Be skeptical of clean breakouts of very obvious levels until they prove they hold.

Common mistakes

  • Chasing the breakout through an obvious level right into the trap.
  • Calling every wick a liquidity grab without a clear level and a reversal.

Watch: liquidity grabs and stop hunts explained

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