PO3

Power of 3 describes the three phases price typically moves through within a complete trading cycle (such as a trading day or a Kill Zone): Accumulation, Manipulation, and Distribution.

The accumulation phase usually occurs during low-volume, range-bound periods (such as the Asian session), establishing the day's initial range. The manipulation phase is a brief spike beyond the range's high or low — a false breakout designed to sweep stop-losses and resting orders at the range edges. The distribution phase follows, where price makes its real directional move for the session after liquidity has been captured.

PO3 is closely tied to the Kill Zone and liquidity sweep concepts: the manipulation phase often coincides with the open of a specific Kill Zone and is frequently accompanied by a clear liquidity sweep — which is why traders treat an 'opening false breakout' as an important entry cue rather than something to chase in panic.

When applying PO3, it's advisable to first confirm the cyclical directional bias on a higher timeframe (daily/4-hour), then drop to a lower timeframe to observe the manipulation phase's false breakout and reversal structure — avoiding repeated in-and-out trades during the noisy accumulation range.