IB extension

An IB extension is a projected level placed a fraction or multiple of the initial balance range above the IB high or below the IB low, most often at 0.5× and 1× the range. It gives a measured target for how far a range extension out of the first hour has travelled.

Senzoukria · Glossary · Updated September 2026

Two meanings of the word

In Market Profile, 'range extension' is the fact that price trades beyond the initial balance later in the session. 'IB extension levels' are the measured targets traders derive from the IB range to frame that extension. The first is an observation; the second is a projection.

  • R = IBH − IBL, the initial balance range.
  • Upper extensions: IBH + 0.5R and IBH + R.
  • Lower extensions: IBL − 0.5R and IBL − R.
  • Some traders add 1.5× or 2× levels; the arithmetic is the same.

How to use the levels

  • A session that extends to 0.5R and stalls is a modest extension; reaching 1R is a full-range extension, typical of trend-like sessions.
  • The levels are reference targets, not reversal points. What happens at them is read in the footprint: absorption, exhaustion or continuation.
  • The width of the IB scales the targets. A narrow IB gives tight levels that are hit easily; a wide IB gives distant levels that are rarely reached.
  • Extensions in one direction with the opposite IB edge holding are the classic shape of a normal-variation day.

In Senzoukria

The 'IB Extensions' overlay ('Structure & sessions') takes the IB as the high and low of the first 'ibMinutes' of the session, 60 by default, and draws the 0.5× extensions as solid lines and the 1× extensions as dashed lines, each toggleable. It draws only the extensions: the IB high and low themselves come from the separate 'Initial Balance' overlay, so enabling both gives the full ladder without duplicate lines. The same window rule applies: a session without a bar inside the IB window draws nothing.

Common mistakes

  • Projecting from a partial IB. If the first hour is not fully loaded, the range is wrong and every extension with it.
  • Reading the 1× level as a fixed profit target. It measures distance, not intent.
  • Mixing IB definitions: an extension computed on a 30-minute IB and one on a 60-minute IB land at different prices.

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Frequently asked questions

Why 0.5× and 1× rather than other multiples?
They are the most common conventions in Market Profile teaching: half the range as a first checkpoint and a full range as a complete extension. Other multiples are arithmetic variations. The Senzoukria overlay draws these two, each of which can be switched off.
Does a range extension mean a trend day?
Not by itself. Many balanced sessions extend the IB slightly on one side and return. A trend day usually shows a narrow IB, a one-directional extension well beyond 1R and a close near the extreme. The extension levels help measure which case you are in.
What if the IB has zero range?
If the whole first window traded at one price, R is zero and every extension coincides with the IB itself. The Senzoukria overlay still emits the levels in that case, all at the same price. Treat it as a data or session-definition problem to check, not as a level to trade.

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