ICT (Inner Circle Trader): Who Is Michael Huddleston? The Complete Profile

The Inner Circle Trader, or ICT, is a Private Trading Group and a popular trading YouTube channel created by Michael J. Huddleston. The idea of naming his school “the Inner Circle” came to him while reading a book by Larry Williams, a famous trader who has also been a huge inspiration in my own trading life.

Michael describes himself as “your Mentor’s Mentor” or “the ghost in the machine.” That is why, with a touch of irony, I go by “your guru’s guru” on Twitter. His first educational videos and trading mentorship began as early as 2012, before the official formalization of the ICT system in 2014.

The Inner Circle Trader (ICT) teaches and blends Price Action, Technical Analysis, Trading Patterns, Scalping, Day Trading, Swing Trading, Risk Management, Trader Psychology, and many other advanced concepts that today’s trader simply cannot do without.

ICT: who invented the Inner Circle Trader?

Have you ever heard of the Inner Circle Trader (ICT) and his trading strategies, which revolutionized the way traders approach Forex and the financial markets?

If you want to understand who is behind this method, now a cult favorite among traders worldwide, then this complete profile is for you. We will explore Michael Huddleston’s journey, the birth of ICT, his flagship concepts (Smart Money Concepts, Order Blocks, Fair Value Gaps), and the lessons to draw from them.

“The Inner Circle Trader”: a global Forex reference

The Inner Circle Trader (ICT) has become an essential reference in the world of trading and the stock market, particularly in Forex and the futures markets.

ICT is both the name of a trading school and a pseudonym behind which hides a certain Michael J. Huddleston. He is an American businessman who has been trading since the early 1990s. A graduate in economics, he is quoted on countless trading forums, blogs, and websites around the world.

From 2012 to 2014: the birth of a cult school

Michael Huddleston published his first educational videos back in 2012, but it was in 2014 that he truly formalized the ICT system as we know it today. He now ranks among the most renowned American trading educators in the industry.

Inner Circle Trader runs an English-language YouTube channel that now counts more than 2 million subscribers (up from just a few hundred thousand only a few years ago: proof of his exploding popularity). His channel is dedicated to training people who want to become professional traders and adopt an institutional approach to the markets.

By the way, let me take this opportunity to tell you that I have also created 2 French-speaking Discord servers reserved for those of you who, like me, want to become trading pros.

ICT’s videos teach traders advanced trading strategies and concepts, the famous Smart Money Concepts, such as order flow trading, order blocks, and fair value gaps. These tools let you read the moves of institutional players and anticipate reversal zones with remarkable precision.

In addition, ICT also has a large English-speaking community of passionate traders who learn from one another and discuss strategies and ideas daily.

As for me, I invite you to come join my French-speaking trading community on Youtube, Instagram, Telegram, and above all on Discord. I have built my own method based on the study of Price Action, but I do not shy away from occasionally using some of the useful, educational concepts taught by ICT. To apply these concepts hands-on in the crypto markets, I recommend using a robust, regulated platform like OKX, which offers ideal conditions for executing this type of strategy.

ICT: who is Michael J. Huddleston, the founder?

The trader uncle and the seed planted at age 13

Michael J. Huddleston is the founder of the Inner Circle Trader (ICT). As a teenager, he discovered the world of finance and trading through his uncle, who was already trading commodities and had, by luck, made a success of the sugar trade. Around the age of 13, his family had gotten into the habit of gathering every Sunday. Every Sunday, his uncle encouraged him to pursue his studies and build a career as a futures trader. “The richest people in the world trade Futures and Options,” he would tell him. “You can do it too.” Those words went in one ear and out the other. As a 13-year-old teenager, Michael did not really pay attention to his uncle’s words. But hammered home every single Sunday, they eventually carved a powerful path into his subconscious.

ICT: the catalyst that set everything in motion

Later on, Michael came to work for a family of bankers in Owing Mills. His job was to place vending machines in various spots around town, maintain them, and collect the cash they brought in.

He was immediately fascinated by how easily this business could generate “cash.” From that realization, he told himself: “This is what I want to do: I want to become an entrepreneur!” He clearly remembers one day when he was due to meet his boss to hand over the day’s takings after his vending machine rounds, and he stumbled upon an ad in an entrepreneurial magazine lying on the boss’s desk. He was so embarrassed to ask permission to read that magazine! Finally, summoning his courage, he ended up asking for it and taking it home to read. And what a good call that was! At the back of the magazine sat THE classified ad that would change his life and later, as a consequence, the lives of countless traders around the world. Its slogan was “Real Money, Real People” and it said things like: “In six months, by taking a few specific actions, you can earn up to $32K!!!”

ICT: the butterfly effect of a simple ad

When Michael answered that ad, he did not yet realize it would set him on the path to his destiny. He immediately called to learn more about the offer, already picturing himself as the self-made man and billionaire Ken Roberts. In hindsight, the course he bought was actually nothing more than a very poor-quality, terribly written commodities trading course. Completely unaware of this, he immediately got in touch with Fox Invest, the broker recommended in the course. On the very first evening, he had already lost 50% of the capital he had previously saved up, trading an option based on the price of orange juice!!! That was the night he realized that the money he had lost had gone into someone else’s pocket. Someone had taken his money. He wanted to become someone. Granted, this painful early experience could have gotten the better of his motivation. But no. Michael is a fighter who never gives up! From then on, he truly wanted to become the person on the winning side of the trade — a mindset I break down in my guide to trading psychology.

The genesis of trader Michael Huddleston

Mr. Huddleston began his career in the early 1990s as a currency trader. He found success, but he quickly realized that the markets were changing and that he had to adapt his trading strategies to stay profitable. He began to understand that algorithmic trading was going to change the game and that, as an independent trader, you were headed for ruin if you ignored it. He therefore quickly became an expert in the field.

In 2014, Huddleston decided to officially share his knowledge and experience with other traders and formalized the ICT trading system, building on the educational videos he had already been publishing since 2012. The system is based on his Smart Money Concepts (SMC), designed to help traders quickly and efficiently identify market opportunities by reading the footprints left by institutional players.

Trading in the 90s: a genuine technical nightmare

In an interview, he recounts his adventures as a beginner trader in the early 90s: a genuine nightmare compared to today. It was the dawn of the internet with AOL, and almost everything still happened by email or over the phone. Every time he called the broker, he had to go through an interrogation, the KYC of the day. No real-time screens. None of that. Fees were exorbitant. Michael had nevertheless managed to buy a “charting package” called Metastock. He had to connect to the internet 3 or 4 times a week using prepaid cards and download trading data at a snail’s pace. During all that time spent sending orders by email and confirming by phone that they had actually been placed, the market kept on moving, with a high probability that the order would arrive far too late.

Michael’s early days in trading: the lessons of a bull run

In his early days as a trader, he also faced a 9-month-long bull run and the false belief that money is always very easy to make. According to Michael, this can create a psychological bias that can become very harmful later in a trader’s career. During those 9 months, of course, Michael, who was only placing longs, made a lot of money without thinking of making regular withdrawals. A fatal mistake. Dear readers, take this lesson to heart! I know a thing or two about it myself after the FTX affair! When you make money, make regular withdrawals to your bank accounts and quickly invest the proceeds in stable assets like bricks and mortar: real estate, for example. Good risk management also means securing your gains.

Back then, Michael, like many beginner traders, only traded the long side, because he wrongly believed that whenever the market turned down, a loss was guaranteed every single time. He reveals that there is now a chasm between the way he saw the market 40 years ago and the way he sees it today. In those days, his favorite and almost exclusive indicator was the 50 moving average!!! Today, his way of trading has completely changed. Trading the way he once did is simply impossible now. He has added plenty of strings to his bow. In particular, he learned to short, a skill he considers essential for today’s trader.

ICT: the crackdown imposed by the authorities

One day, a government official came to see him and informed him that he had to cease his activity immediately: he was giving “investment advice,” which is strictly prohibited by law. This episode took place in the mid-90s. His audience was growing fast. He was regularly emailing his students with his analyses of market movements. At the time, he had no idea that what he was doing was prohibited. The man from the government agency rings his doorbell and asks:

– May I see Michael J. Huddleston?

– That’s me, in the flesh.

– Please come with me and hand over every document you have: laptop, emails, absolutely everything!

As it happens, his laptop had given up the ghost the day before that visit, and Michael was no longer able to provide anything at all to the government agency inspector. The inspector threatened him, telling him he faced 5 years in prison and a $500K fine. Reluctantly, Michael decided to stop teaching trading. But it was only a matter of time before he came back. Like me, Michael is driven by a passion for passing on, sharing, and teaching what he knows. Michael therefore had no choice but to ease off, or he risked facing serious trouble. He took a break of at least a year and a half, then gradually went back to sending posts to his students, this time taking great care to protect himself legally by including a warning to his readers every single time, the famous “Disclaimer” we all know today and which I am myself required, rightly so, to include regularly.

ICT: the conclusion and the lessons to remember

Fortunately, none of Michael’s students had been ruined by his advice. He had impoverished no one. His conscience was clear, because he did his job well, like an expert. But he learned his lesson, because trading truly is not for everyone. If you do not scrupulously follow the risk management advice we teach, the consequences can quickly turn disastrous. That is why, to avoid any trouble with the authorities, Michael decided to present his live trading lessons exclusively on a demo account, which allows him to strip away any emotional weight. He teaches how to use tools. Everyone is free to do what they want with that teaching. According to him — and I fully agree — not everyone is disciplined enough to use his teaching (or mine) effectively and become a profitable trader. What we teach is not investment advice. Above all, we teach you how to use the fishing rod; we will never hand you our catch! Without serious work upfront, starting with mastering the basics of trading, you will never become a profitable trader over the long run.

FAQ: Inner Circle Trader (ICT)

Who is the Inner Circle Trader (ICT)?

ICT is the pseudonym of Michael J. Huddleston, an American trader active since the early 1990s. He is the creator of the “Inner Circle Trader” trading school and its famous Smart Money Concepts, which he shares for free on YouTube with more than 2 million subscribers.

What are ICT’s Smart Money Concepts?

Smart Money Concepts (SMC) bring together a set of tools — order blocks, fair value gaps, order flow reading — designed to read the traces left by institutional players (the “smart money”) in order to anticipate market reversal zones.

Is the ICT course free?

Yes. After offering a paid mentorship for many years, Michael Huddleston made his entire teaching public and free on his YouTube channel. He also presents his live trading sessions on a demo account, for purely educational purposes.

Is ICT only for Forex?

No. While ICT made his name in Forex and the futures markets, his concepts also apply to indices and crypto. These are, in fact, the very principles — combined with my own approach to Price Action — that I work on with my French-speaking community.