Nifty Bank Index
Education

Volume Profile

48
🧠 What Volume Profile Tells You:
Where Smart Money is Positioned: Institutions trade size at certain price levels. If a level has massive volume, it likely involves institutional orders.

Where Price May Reverse: Low volume areas are like "no-man's land." Price often doesn’t stay long there and either gets rejected or moves quickly.

Where Breakouts or Reversals May Happen: Combining price action with volume profile gives you powerful insight.

📥 What is Order Flow Trading?
📘 Definition:
Order Flow Trading is the real-time reading of buying and selling activity in the market by analyzing:

Bid-ask spread

Market orders

Limit orders

Volume clusters

Delta (Buy volume vs Sell volume)

This tells you who is in control: Buyers or Sellers, and whether their momentum is strong or weakening.

💡 Why Combine Volume Profile + Order Flow?
Separately, both tools are powerful. Together, they form a deadly accurate system for identifying:

Institutional interest zones

Breakout traps

Liquidity pools

Stop hunts

True vs false momentum

Where the market is likely to go next

🧱 Building Blocks: How to Read and Use Volume Profile
1. Identify the POC (Point of Control)
This is the battlefield where the most contracts were traded.

Price tends to revisit the POC like a magnet.

Trade Idea: If price is above POC and rising with volume — strong uptrend confirmation. If price breaks below POC with volume, it may reverse.

2. Look at Value Area High & Low
VAH = Value Area High = Potential resistance

VAL = Value Area Low = Potential support

Trade Idea: If price bounces from VAL with strong delta → go long. If price rejects VAH with large seller volume → go short.

3. Watch for Low Volume Nodes
These are areas where price moved fast with little trading.

Often leads to explosive breakouts or breakdowns.

Trade Idea: Trade the breakout into LVN zones with confirmation from order flow.

🧠 How to Read Order Flow (Simplified)
Step 1: Use Footprint Charts
Look inside candles at volume per price.

Find imbalances: For example, if buyers heavily dominate the top of a candle — strong breakout.

Step 2: Watch Delta
Positive Delta = More aggressive buyers

Negative Delta = More aggressive sellers

Caution: Sometimes delta diverges from price — this can signal reversals.

Step 3: Observe Cumulative Delta
Shows overall trend of buyers vs sellers.

Helps confirm whether a breakout has real commitment or is just a trap.

🔁 Example: How a Trade Comes Together
Market Context:
Nifty is approaching yesterday’s high.

Volume profile shows an LVN above the current price.

Footprint chart shows increasing buyer imbalances.

Delta is rising sharply.

Trade Idea:

Go long when price breaks into the LVN zone with rising delta.

Target is POC from previous day or upper HVN.

Stop loss just below breakout candle or VAL.

🎯 Real-World Institutional Trading Behavior
Institutions don’t chase price. They:

Accumulate at low volume pullbacks

Defend key POC levels

Trigger fake breakouts to trap retail traders

Use high volume zones to hide big orders

When you use Volume Profile + Order Flow, you’re reading their footprints. You can literally “see” where they’re active.

📌 Practical Tips to Get Started
Start With Volume Profile First
Understand where price is attracted (POC), where it stalls (VAH/VAL), and where it moves quickly (LVN).

Add Footprint Charts for Confirmation
Look at volume imbalances, delta pressure, and trapped buyers/sellers.

Use Volume Profile Across Timeframes

Weekly Volume Profile = Big picture

Daily Volume Profile = Context

Intraday Volume Profile = Execution

Mark Key Levels Before the Session

POC, VAH, VAL from previous day

Watch for reactions

Use Replays to Practice
Many platforms (like NinjaTrader, Sierra Chart, Quantower, TradingView) allow market replays. Watch how price reacts to volume levels.

🚫 Mistakes to Avoid
Don’t blindly trade every POC touch — wait for confirmation from order flow.

Don’t trade inside the value area unless volatility is high.

Don’t ignore market context (news, macro, global indices).

Don’t over-analyze — simplicity wins.

💻 Tools and Platforms
To trade with Volume Profile + Order Flow effectively, you’ll need:

TradingView (Paid plans for Volume Profile)

Sierra Chart / NinjaTrader / Quantower for full order flow features

Volume Profile indicators like Visible Range, Fixed Range, Session Volume

Footprint Chart and DOM for advanced flow reading

🧩 Final Thoughts: Is This Right for You?
Volume Profile + Order Flow Trading is used by professional traders, proprietary firms, and institutions to:

Time entries and exits with precision

Understand market logic and manipulation

Avoid false breakouts and trap zones

Follow the real flow of smart money

While it takes time to learn, this method offers unmatched insight into how markets really work.

Disclaimer

The information and publications are not meant to be, and do not constitute, financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice or recommendations supplied or endorsed by TradingView. Read more in the Terms of Use.