Multi-timeframe narrative
Higher timeframes set context; lower timeframes refine timing. Conflicts between them are information, not noise.
Interpretive framework. Smart Money Concepts is a discretionary way of labelling price action. Definitions vary among practitioners, and nothing here proves institutional orders or a guaranteed edge. All examples use synthetic numbers.
Top-down process
A common workflow: 1) on a higher timeframe (e.g. daily) describe structure and mark the dealing range and major liquidity; 2) identify a point of interest (POI) such as an unmitigated FVG or OB in discount/premium; 3) drop to a lower timeframe (e.g. 1-hour) and wait for a CHoCH inside the POI before considering the idea active.
Write the narrative as a conditional sentence: 'If price reaches the daily FVG at X and the 1-hour prints a bullish CHoCH, the idea is valid; if price closes below Y, it is not.'
When timeframes disagree
A bullish 1-hour structure inside a bearish daily is usually a pullback. SMC readers typically either wait for alignment or reduce size. Neither choice is guaranteed to be right; the point is to make the conflict explicit.
Worked example
Building a conditional narrative (synthetic)
- Daily: bullish BOS at 55.4; dealing range 42.6-55.4; equilibrium 49.0.
- Daily POI: unmitigated FVG 47.2-48.4 (discount).
- Price retraces to 47.9. On the 1-hour, structure is bearish (LH 49.3).
- Condition: a 1-hour close above 49.3 = CHoCH inside the POI. Invalidation: daily close below 47.2 (gap fully traded through).
Narrative = context + location + trigger + invalidation, all written before the fact.
Common misconceptions
“Looking at more timeframes gives more certainty.”
It gives more context and also more ways to rationalise. Fix your timeframes in advance.
“Lower timeframe signals override the higher timeframe.”
Most practitioners treat the higher timeframe as dominant; lower-timeframe signals against it fail often.
Checkpoint