What would you need to learn before you could confidently read an order block or a fair value gap on a chart?

The gap between knowing the names of SMC concepts and actually reading them on a live chart is vast. SMC practitioners emphasise that the framework requires thousands of hours of deliberate practice — studying charts, identifying patterns, and reviewing outcomes. Before attempting to trade with SMC, the practical step is to build a foundation in basic price action and market structure, then layer on SMC concepts one at a time.