The glossary.

When passive limit orders absorb aggressive market orders without significant price movement. Indicates strong conviction at a price level where large resting orders consume incoming aggression.

A market participant who initiates a trade by crossing the spread, buying at the ask or selling at the bid. Aggressors use market orders and represent urgency and conviction.

Automated spoofing executed by algorithms that place and cancel large orders at high speed to manipulate the perception of supply and demand. These patterns are often visible on the heatmap as rapidly flickering liquidity.

A VWAP calculation that begins from a user defined point in time rather than the session open. Traders anchor VWAP to significant events like earnings, swing highs/lows, or breakouts to track the average price from that reference.

The lowest price at which a seller is willing to sell. Also called the offer. The ask represents the best available price for buyers wanting immediate execution.

A framework that explains how markets facilitate trade between buyers and sellers through a continuous two way auction process. Price moves to find levels where both sides agree to transact, oscillating between balance and imbalance.

A market state where price rotates within a defined range, indicating agreement on value between buyers and sellers. Volume builds in the center and thins at extremes. Also called bracketing or consolidation.

The highest price at which a buyer is willing to buy. The bid represents the best available price for sellers wanting immediate execution. Bids are passive, resting limit orders on the buy side.

The difference between the best bid and best ask price. A tighter spread indicates higher liquidity. The spread is the cost of immediacy, what you pay to execute now rather than wait.

A Volume Profile or Market Profile built over multiple sessions. Used to identify longer term value areas, high volume nodes, and structural reference points that single session profiles may not reveal.

The running total of delta (buying volume minus selling volume) over a given period. Tracks the net aggression over time. Divergences between cumulative delta and price can signal exhaustion or hidden strength.

The difference between buying volume (trades at the ask) and selling volume (trades at the bid) at a price level or over a bar. Positive delta means more aggressive buying; negative delta means more aggressive selling.

When price makes a new high or low but delta does not confirm the move. For example, price makes a higher high but delta prints a lower high, signaling weakening aggression and potential exhaustion.

A display of all resting limit orders at each price level above and below the current price. The DOM (or order book / ladder) shows the queue of passive buyers and sellers and how liquidity is distributed.

Single prints or long tails at the extremes of a Market Profile, indicating aggressive rejection of price. Excess at a high or low suggests strong responsive activity and a clean auction endpoint.

When aggressive participants run out of conviction or capital. Often visible as high volume with diminishing price movement, delta divergence, or absorption. Signals a potential reversal.

The price area where the most trade facilitation occurs, where buyers and sellers most agree on price. Typically represented by the Point of Control or the center of a value area. Price tends to return to fair value after excursions.

An order type that must be executed in its entirety immediately or cancelled completely. No partial fills are allowed. Used when a trader needs a full position or nothing at all.

An auction extreme where price was clearly rejected, typically shown by a long tail, excess, or absorption. On the DOM, finished auctions appear when aggressive sellers/buyers are fully absorbed and price reverses with conviction.

A visual representation of resting limit order depth across price and time. Bright or dense areas indicate large clusters of liquidity. The heatmap reveals where passive participants are positioning, spoofing activity, and liquidity magnets.

A price level or zone on the Volume Profile where a large amount of volume has been traded. HVNs act as magnets, and price tends to gravitate toward and spend time at these accepted value levels.

A large order that is only partially displayed on the order book, with the remainder hidden. As the visible portion fills, more is revealed. Used by institutional traders to mask the true size of their position.

A market state where one side (buyers or sellers) overwhelms the other, causing directional price movement. Imbalance is identified when volume at the bid or ask at a given price is significantly larger than the opposing side.

The price range established during the first hour of Regular Trading Hours (typically the first two 30 minute TPO periods). The IB sets the early reference for the session and helps classify the day type.

Trading activity that pushes price away from established value. Initiative buyers push price above the prior value area; initiative sellers push price below. Represents new information or conviction entering the market.

A resting order to buy or sell at a specified price or better. Limit orders provide liquidity and sit passively on the order book until matched. They do not guarantee execution but guarantee price.

The availability of resting orders at and around the current price. High liquidity means large orders can be filled with minimal price impact. Liquidity clusters at obvious levels like round numbers, prior highs/lows, and value area edges.

A large cluster of resting limit orders visible on the heatmap that attracts price. Price tends to gravitate toward these dense liquidity pools because market orders seek to fill against available resting orders.

A very large block of resting limit orders at a specific price level visible on the heatmap or DOM. Walls can act as support or resistance, but may also be spoofed. Genuine walls often absorb aggression and halt price movement.

When price sweeps through a cluster of resting stop orders or a liquidity pool, triggering a cascade of executions. Often engineered moves that reverse shortly after, as the purpose was to fill large orders against the triggered stops.

A price level or zone on the Volume Profile where little volume has been traded. LVNs act as areas of price rejection and price tends to move quickly through these zones. They often mark transitions between value areas.

An order to buy or sell immediately at the best available price. Market orders are aggressive, they cross the spread and consume resting liquidity. They guarantee execution but not price.

A charting methodology developed by J. Peter Steidlmayer that organizes price data by time, using TPO letters to show how long price traded at each level. Reveals the distribution of time at price, value areas, and structural patterns.

Using multiple VWAP calculations simultaneously (daily, weekly, monthly) to identify confluence zones. When several VWAPs converge at the same price level, it creates a strong reference point for potential support or resistance.

A Point of Control from a prior session that has not yet been revisited by price. Naked POCs act as magnets, unfilled fair value levels that price often returns to test, as the market seeks to retrade areas of prior acceptance.

A Market Profile day type where the Initial Balance contains most of the day's range. Price stays within or near the IB, indicating balance and two sided trade with no strong directional conviction.

Another term for the Ask. The lowest price at which a seller is willing to sell. Offers are passive sell limit orders resting on the order book.

The real time stream of buy and sell orders hitting the market. Order flow analysis studies how these orders interact, who is aggressive, who is passive, where liquidity sits, and where imbalance exists, to anticipate price movement.

The net positioning (long or short) accumulated during the overnight or Globex session before Regular Trading Hours open. Overnight inventory analysis helps anticipate the opening drive direction based on the 70% correction rule.

When the Point of Control shifts from one price level to another during a session, indicating a change in where the most volume is being transacted. A POC flip signals a potential shift in fair value and directional intent.

The price level with the highest traded volume within a given profile (session, composite, or custom). The POC represents the fairest price, where the most two sided trade occurred. It acts as a key reference and potential magnet for price.

A profile high that lacks single prints or excess, indicating the auction did not complete at that extreme. A poor high suggests buyers were not fully rejected and price may return to retest and repair the incomplete structure.

A profile low that lacks single prints or excess, indicating the auction did not complete at that extreme. A poor low suggests sellers were not fully rejected and price may return to retest and repair the incomplete structure.

A temporary reversal within a larger directional move. In order flow terms, a pullback often shows reduced delta or declining aggression in the counter trend direction, indicating the larger move is likely to resume.

When a large resting order on the DOM is removed before being filled. Pulling bids signals weakening buy side support; pulling offers signals weakening sell side resistance. Often a precursor to price moving away from that level.

Price activity that extends beyond the Initial Balance. Range extension indicates initiative activity and directional conviction. The more range extension, the stronger the move and the more likely the day trends.

The primary trading session for a given market (e.g., 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET for US equities). RTH is when the most volume and institutional participation occurs. Many profile based references are built around RTH data.

Trading that pushes price back toward established value. Responsive buyers step in below value; responsive sellers step in above value. The market self corrects as participants fade moves away from fair price.

A price swing within a balanced range. In a bracketing market, price rotates between support and resistance, testing extremes and returning to the middle. Each rotation reveals information about where value is accepted.

A heatmap pattern where a large resting order repeatedly adjusts its price to stay just ahead of the market, pulling price in its direction like a rubber band. Indicates a passive participant actively managing their order to attract fills.

The Volume Weighted Average Price calculated from the start of the current trading session. Represents the average price weighted by volume, where the composite trader executed on average. A key intraday reference for institutional participation.

TPO letters that appear only once at a price level on a Market Profile, indicating price moved through that level quickly with little two sided trade. Single prints represent initiative activity and can act as future support or resistance.

A heatmap pattern where price rapidly snaps toward a large cluster of resting liquidity. The presence of a dense liquidity pool acts as a magnet, and once price begins moving in that direction, it accelerates toward the resting orders.

The illegal practice of placing large orders with the intent to cancel before execution, designed to deceive other participants about supply and demand. Spoof orders create a false impression of liquidity to manipulate price.

Multiple consecutive price levels showing bid ask imbalance in the same direction. Three or more stacked imbalances signal strong aggressive activity and often mark the beginning of a directional move or key support/resistance.

When additional limit orders are added to an existing level on the DOM, increasing the visible size. Stacking bids signals growing buy side conviction; stacking offers signals growing sell side conviction. The opposite of pulling.

An order that becomes a market order once a specified price is reached. Buy stops rest above current price; sell stops rest below. Clusters of stop orders create liquidity pools that can accelerate moves when triggered.

A letter or block assigned to each 30 minute period on a Market Profile. Each TPO represents that price was visited during that time bracket. The accumulation of TPOs at each price builds the profile's shape and reveals the time based value distribution.

The total number of Time Price Opportunities at a given price level. A higher TPO count means price spent more time at that level, indicating greater acceptance. TPO count is the time based equivalent of volume.

A Market Profile day type characterized by strong directional movement from open to close with little rotation. The profile is elongated with a narrow shape. Trend days feature range extension, single prints, and initiative activity throughout.

An auction extreme (high or low) that lacks excess or proper rejection, suggesting the market has not completed its price discovery in that direction. Unfinished auctions are likely to be revisited as the market seeks to complete its work.

The price range encompassing approximately 70% of the volume (or TPOs) in a given profile. The value area represents where the majority of trade occurred, the zone of price acceptance. It is bounded by the Value Area High and Value Area Low.

The upper boundary of the Value Area. The VAH is a key reference point. Price trading above the prior VAH suggests initiative buying and acceptance of higher prices. It often acts as support once reclaimed or resistance when tested from below.

The lower boundary of the Value Area. The VAL is a key reference point. Price trading below the prior VAL suggests initiative selling and acceptance of lower prices. It often acts as resistance once lost or support when tested from above.

A charting tool that displays the total volume traded at each price level over a given period, plotted as a horizontal histogram. Unlike time based volume, Volume Profile reveals where activity concentrated, highlighting nodes, value areas, and the POC.

The average price of an instrument weighted by the volume traded at each price. VWAP represents the benchmark price institutions use to evaluate execution quality. Trading above VWAP indicates net buying pressure; below indicates net selling.

Statistical bands plotted at one, two, or three standard deviations above and below VWAP. These bands act as dynamic support and resistance levels, representing how far price has deviated from the volume weighted mean.