Algo Smart Money Indicator: An Impulse And Its Origin

Written by Dominic Walsh · Published 26 May 2026 · Last updated 9 Sep 2026

The algo smart money indicator hunts a single shape. One candle must have an unusually large body. It must also close the opposite way to the candle before it. That earlier candle becomes the block.

This build ships as a compiled .ex4 for MT4 and .ex5 for MT5; the screenshots below come from EURUSD H1.

Platforms	MT4 (.ex4) + MT5 (.ex5)
Chart window	Main price chart
Plots	4: Bull OB, Bear OB, Buy, Sell
Alerts	popup, push notification, email, sound
Inputs	9

What the Algo Smart Money Indicator draws on the chart

`Bull OB` places a teal marker at the low of the block candle.

`Bear OB` places a maroon one at its high.

A lime `Buy` arrow and a red `Sell` arrow sit on the impulse bar itself.

Both block markers use code 119, which renders as a square rather than an arrow.

• Bull OB: arrow, teal, width 2, arrow code 119
• Bear OB: arrow, maroon, width 2, arrow code 119
• Buy: arrow, lime, width 4, arrow code 233
• Sell: arrow, red, width 4, arrow code 234

How the Algo Smart Money Indicator calculates its values

Size comes from range

iATR at `AtrPeriod` `14` measures the previous bar. The impulse body has to beat `ImpulseMultiplier` `1.5` of that reading. Tying size to range keeps the test working on any instrument.

Direction must reverse

A bullish impulse needs the bar before it to have closed bearish. That pairing is what the smart-money reading calls an origin candle, and without it a large body alone means nothing here.

The block sits one bar back

The marker lands on the earlier candle, not the impulse. Its low anchors a bull block and its high anchors a bear one. The arrow stays on the impulse bar so you can see both at once.

How to read the signals

A `Bull OB` square marks where the move began, not where it went.

The arrow and the square always sit on adjacent bars.

Marks sit `ArrowOffsetPoints` `40` points clear of the candle.

Nothing tracks whether price later returned to a block.

Alert channels in this build: popup, push notification, email and sound, one message per closed bar.

`EnableAlerts` controls all four routes and arrives true, with `EnablePopup` opening the terminal window. Flip `EnablePushNotify` for a handset, `EnableEmail` for mail, or `EnableSound` to play the clip in `SoundFile`. One message per closed bar.

Every Algo Smart Money Indicator input

Core settings

Setting	What it does	Default
ImpulseMultiplier	Range units the impulse body must beat, default `1.5`.	1.5
AtrPeriod	Bars behind the size yardstick, default `14`.	14

Display settings

Setting	What it does	Default
ArrowOffsetPoints	Points between an arrow and its candle, default `40`.	40

Alert settings

Setting	What it does	Default
EnableAlerts	Overall control of the four routes, default `true`.	on
EnablePopup	Terminal window on a new block, default `true`.	on
EnablePushNotify	Handset message on a new block, default `false`.	off
EnableEmail	Mail on a new block, default `false`.	off
EnableSound	Clip on a new block, default `false`.	off
SoundFile	Which clip plays, default `”alert.wav”`.	alert.wav

Settings that fit your chart

Impulse candles need instruments that move in bursts. EURUSD H1 is the reference chart, where a block appears every day or two. On M5 small bodies rarely clear the range test. H4 gives fewer blocks that last longer.

When the Algo Smart Money Indicator fails

`ImpulseMultiplier` `1.5` is a single threshold, so a body just under it gets nothing.

Only two bars enter the test, which is a very local view of structure.

No box gets drawn, so the block is a point rather than a zone.

Copy the compiled Algo Smart Money Indicator file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, and the MT5 build into MQL5/Indicators, then restart the terminal and drag it onto a chart. The step-by-step guide with screenshots is at how to install MT4 and MT5 indicators.

Related on forexmt4systems.com: Smart Money Concepts Strategy.

Background reading on the method behind the Algo Smart Money Indicator: Money illusion on Wikipedia, Chaikin Money Flow Cmf at StockCharts ChartSchool.

Download the Algo Smart Money Indicator for MT4 and MT5

The zip holds the compiled Algo Smart Money Indicator build for MT4 and MT5, plus a short README. Compiled files only, no source. Enter your email below and the download link arrives in your inbox.

FAQ

What does ImpulseMultiplier 1.5 compare?

The impulse candle body against one and a half times the fourteen-bar range reading. Raising it demands a bigger candle and gives fewer blocks. Lowering it toward one lets ordinary candles qualify.

Why does AtrPeriod skip the impulse bar?

So the yardstick is not affected by the very candle it measures. Reading range on the impulse bar itself would inflate the threshold exactly when a large body appears, which would defeat the test.

Where does the Bull OB marker sit?

At the low of the candle before the impulse. That earlier candle closed the opposite way, which is what makes it the origin of the move under the smart-money reading this build follows.

Why does ArrowOffsetPoints use 40?

An impulse candle is large by definition, so a small gap would put the arrow inside its body. Forty points clears a typical one on a five-digit pair. Change it for instruments with a different point size.

Are results guaranteed?

No. Trading involves risk. Results are not guaranteed; past performance is not indicative of future results. Use the Algo Smart Money Indicator as one input. Always backtest before trading live.