What Makes an FVG Worth Marking [EmpArchitect]BTCUSDT SPOTBYBIT:BTCUSDTEmpArchitectFVG Notes 2/5 A fair value gap is easy to identify. Three candles. A strong move through the middle. Space left between the first and third candle. But identifying the geometry is the easy part. The harder question is whether the gap deserves to remain on the chart. An FVG is a record of where price moved quickly through an area. That record can be useful. But not every record explains something meaningful. Most traders stop once the rectangle is drawn. I start there. The shape tells me an imbalance exists. It does not tell me whether the imbalance matters. The first filter is location. Where did the FVG form? A gap in the middle of an unresolved range usually tells me less than one formed near meaningful liquidity, a prior swing, or the edge of a clear structure. Location gives the imbalance context. Without location, it is just empty space between candles. The second filter is displacement. Did price genuinely leave the area with urgency? A slightly larger candle is not enough. I want to see clear separation, limited overlap, and a move that stands apart from the price action around it. The stronger the displacement, the more useful the FVG may be as a record of that move. The third filter is liquidity context. What happened before the imbalance formed? Was a visible high or low taken? Did price clear an obvious level? Did the move begin after one side of the market was forced to react? Not every useful FVG needs a perfect sweep. But there should be some structural reason the move began where it did. The fourth filter is structure change. Did the displacement alter the state of the chart? Did price move beyond a meaningful swing? Did it create separation from the previous range? Or did the gap form inside the same unresolved structure? If nothing changed, the imbalance may only be part of the existing noise. The fifth filter is cleanliness. Some FVGs form inside clear directional movement. Others appear inside overlapping candles, repeated wicks, and chaotic price action. When gaps appear everywhere, they stop being selective. A chart filled with FVG boxes is not more informative. It is usually less readable. That leaves five formation filters: Location. Displacement. Liquidity context. Structure change. Cleanliness. These are not instructions. They are reasons for deciding whether an imbalance helps explain the move or merely adds another rectangle to the chart. The goal is not to preserve every FVG. The goal is to keep the records that add context and remove the ones that add noise. Marking an FVG is one thing. What happens when price later interacts with it is a different question. That is the next note. An FVG is worth marking when its formation explains something meaningful about the move — not merely because three candles left a gap.