Quick answer

Power of 3 is accumulation, manipulation, distribution. The IFVG entry fits inside it as the distribution leg. Accumulation chop builds the FVG, manipulation violates it, the retest of the inverted gap is your entry.

Introduction

Power of Three (PO3) is the cleanest way to read intraday price action. Every move on the chart is doing one of three things: accumulating, manipulating, or distributing. Recognize the phase, and you stop guessing where the trade is.

Stack PO3 on top of an inversion gap and a higher timeframe PD array, and you've got the closest thing to a textbook trade I take on a Monday morning. This breakdown covers the 30-point bottom-tick entry on ES with the higher timeframe holding everything together.

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"We had our accumulation, we had our manipulation to the downside, and now what happens after accumulation and manipulation? Distribution. That's where you want to enter."

”Kevin Dhesi · @dhesi_trades

The Three Phases

Accumulation is the boring chop. Price ranges, smart money loads up, and most retail traders get bored and leave. Manipulation is the fakeout. A sharp move into liquidity that triggers stops in the wrong direction. Distribution is the real move that follows.

The trick is knowing which phase you're in. Accumulation looks like nothing. Manipulation looks scary. Distribution is the part everyone catches once it's already running.

Why PO3 Pairs With The Inversion Model

The inversion gap fits inside the PO3 framework like a glove. The accumulation chop builds the FVG. The manipulation move violates it. The retest of the now-inverted gap is the distribution entry. Same picture, two languages.

Figure 1The PO3 sequence: chop accumulates, dive manipulates liquidity, then distribution rips into the range high.
Dhesi Trades

The Setup On Monday

Monday opened with a dump off the overnight session. ES had an inversion gap and a massive 1-hour FVG sitting as a balanced price range. The 4-hour order block was tagged. Higher timeframe was loaded. Every PD array was screaming buy the dip.

The PM session opened, price chopped (accumulation), then dove into the liquidity below (manipulation). When it tagged the BPR and inverted the small 110 fair value gap, the IFVG entry was right there.

Where I Got In

I took it on SPX contracts. Filled at $310, sold the last contract at $950. The futures equivalent was just as clean, same setup, different vehicle. The point isn't which contract you used; it's that the model gave you a 3:1 risk-reward layup and you took it.

Figure 2Monday's PO3 trade: 4H OB and hourly BPR overhead, IFVG entry on the lower timeframe, target the range high.
Dhesi Trades

The Rules I Trade By

Power of 3 + Inversion. Execution Checklist
  1. Identify the higher timeframe PD array first. 4H order block, hourly BPR, daily FVG. No HTF zone, no trade.
  2. Watch overnight or early-session price for accumulation. Tight chop, no real direction.
  3. Wait for manipulation. A sharp move into liquidity that violates the prior structure.
  4. Mark the fair value gap inside the manipulation. That's your IFVG candidate.
  5. When it flips inverse, enter at the close of the displacement candle.
  6. Stop goes below the low of the displacement candle. Tight, defined.
  7. Target equal highs or the range high. Aim for at least 3:1.
  8. If the higher timeframe story breaks, exit. Period.

When NOT To Take It

  • No higher timeframe context. A PO3 setup without a HTF zone is just chop. Skip it.
  • You can't identify the accumulation phase. If price is already trending hard, you're late. Wait for the next range.
  • Manipulation move doesn't sweep liquidity. No equal lows or highs taken means no stops were hunted. The move isn't real.
  • Indices aren't aligned. ES and NQ should be in the same PD array context. If one is bullish and one is bearish, sit out.
  • Overnight news is pending. If FOMC or CPI prints in the next 30 minutes, the PO3 cycle is meaningless. Wait.

The Bottom Line

PO3 isn't a strategy. It's a lens. Once you can name the phase you're looking at, accumulation, manipulation, distribution, every other ICT concept lines up underneath it. Inversion gaps. SMT. Order blocks. They're all just tools for finding the distribution entry.

Higher timeframe overhead. Wait for the chop. Wait for the dive. Take the inversion. Run it to the range high. Same model, every Monday morning.

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"Multiple order blocks on the higher timeframe got respected, we obviously had our hourly BPR, and overall this was just an A+ setup."

”Kevin Dhesi