🔍 Order Flow Basics — Reading the Market’s Footprint 👣📊
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What Is Order Flow?
Order flow tracks actual buying and selling pressure in real-time — it’s the heartbeat of the market 💓
By watching order flow, you can:
✅ See who’s winning: buyers or sellers
✅ Spot aggressive market participants
✅ Time your entries with precision
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🔥 Key Order Flow Concepts
🔸 Market orders = Immediate buys/sells pushing price
🔸 Limit orders = Waiting to be filled, creating support/resistance
🔸 Absorption = Big players absorbing aggressive orders to hold price
🔸 Iceberg orders = Large hidden orders revealed slowly
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👀 How To Read Order Flow
Use tools like Sierra Chart, ATAS, or Bookmap to see:
🔴 Buy imbalances (more aggressive buyers)
🔵 Sell imbalances (more aggressive sellers)
⚡️ Volume clusters at specific prices
⚖️ Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) for pressure shifts
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💡 Pro Tips:
1. Look for Absorption Zones
If aggressive sells meet strong buy absorption → possible reversal
2. Confirm With Price Action
Strong rejection wicks + order flow absorption = higher probability trade
3. Avoid Fading Strong Order Flow
Don’t fight big imbalances without confirmation
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📈 Simple Order Flow Trade:
1. Identify imbalances on the footprint chart
2. Wait for price to confirm with volume cluster or wick
3. Enter with momentum in imbalance direction
4. Set stop just beyond recent absorption or imbalance area
Order flow mastery = trading with the market’s pulse ❤️🔥
