when you read a report, two questions look the same but aren't: did price reach this level, and did price close beyond it. they give two different numbers, and knowing which one a report is using is the difference between a stat you can trust and one that surprises you live.
here's how edgeful counts a level as hit, broken, or held, report by report.
two questions, two numbers
the standard version of a report counts a level as hit the moment price touches it intraday. a wick through the level is enough. the by-close version only counts it if the candle actually closes past the level.
so a wick that pokes through a level and pulls back counts as a hit on the standard report, but not on the by-close version. same day, same chart, two different answers, because you asked two different questions.
neither one is "right." a wick-based number tells you how often price reached a level, which matters if you're taking profit there. a close-based number tells you how often price accepted the level, which matters if you're trading the follow-through.
what "broken" and "held" mean
a level is broken when price takes it out. it held when price tested it but didn't. that's the whole vocabulary. the only question is whether "took it out" means a wick through or a close beyond.
the break-style reports (ORB, IB, and market session breakout) all use the same three outcomes:
single break: price breaks one side of the range and holds the other
double break: price breaks both sides in the same session
no break: price stays inside the range all session
whether a wick counts or the candle has to close is exactly where the standard and by-close versions split.
ORB — a wick counts by default
on the standard ORB report, a level counts as broken the moment price trades through it intraday. a wick beyond the opening range high or low is enough.
the by-close variant is stricter: it only counts the break if the candle actually closes past the level. so a wick that pokes through and pulls back doesn't register.
this changes your double-break numbers too. on by-close, the second side has to close beyond the level to count, so a session that wicked through both sides but only closed beyond one is a single break, not a double. for the full mechanics, see how ORB breakout and breakdown levels are measured.
IB — you pick which one
the initial balance report is the one place the choice is explicit: its by close setting lets you choose wick-through vs. candle-close confirmation. flip it and the same session's break can count differently.
one more IB quirk worth knowing: the retracement level counts are cumulative, not exclusive. they nest. price that retraces to the 75% level had to pass through 25% and 50% to get there, so that day is counted at 25%, at 50%, and at 75%. each level is answering how often did price retrace at least this far, not "stopped exactly here." that's why the level counts won't add up to your total day count, and it's not a bug.
gap fill and retracement reports — it's a touch
the gap fill report counts a fill when price returns to touch the prior session close (PSC). it's a touch: price just has to trade back to the level, it doesn't need to close there.
gap fill's customizable knob isn't a wick-vs-close toggle, it's a fill threshold. the by size variant lets you set how far back counts as a fill (e.g. 50% = halfway back into the gap), which is where a lot of traders scale out.
the same touch logic runs the retracement-style reports: ICT opening retracement (back to the midnight open) and weekly open retracement (back to the weekly open). the event is a tag of the level, not a close beyond it.
reports measured on the close by design
some reports are close-based by definition. there's no wick version, because the whole question is about the close:
opening candle continuation: if the first candle is green, does the day close green
outside days: does price close back inside the prior day's range, or hold outside
asian range breakout: measured on the first 15-minute candle close outside the range, and whether the daily candle closes the same direction
for these, "by close" isn't a setting you toggle. it's baked into what the report measures.
so how do I know which one a report is using
quick rule of thumb:
if the report has a by close variant in its dropdown, the standard version is wick-based and by-close is stricter. IB and ORB are the two where this matters most
if the report is defined around a touch or a fill (gap fill, the retracement reports), it's counting the touch
if the report is defined around where the day or candle closes (opening candle continuation, outside days, asian range), it's close-based by design
when in doubt, the report's own description on the page tells you in its first line, and the variant dropdown shows you every version available.
still not matching your own chart
wick vs close is one of the top reasons a number on your chart disagrees with the report, but it's usually not the first. before you assume it's the confirmation setting, check that your timezone is set to New York, your session window matches (a "first hour" in NY is 9:30–10:30 ET), and your contract lines up. futures roll at 6:00 PM ET, so "previous day" means previous session, not previous calendar day.
why doesn't my number match the report? walks through all of them in order.