The Point of Control is the single price level at which the most volume was traded during a specified period. It represents the 'fair value' according to market participants and acts as a magnet — price tends to gravitate toward the POC. The naked POC (from a prior session that was never revisited) is one of the most reliable support/resistance levels in order flow trading.
Highest volume price in a volume profile, Session POC vs. composite POC vs. developing POC, Naked POC: a POC from a previous period that price has not yet revisited, POC migration during a session shows trend direction, Virgin POC: untouched by subsequent sessions
Price approaching a naked POC = potential reaction/bounce, POC migration direction aligns with trade direction, Multiple sessions' POCs clustering at the same price = strong support/resistance, Entry at POC with footprint/delta confirmation
For POC bounce trades: enter at POC with stop beyond POC cluster + buffer, target the opposing value area extreme. For POC break trades: enter on retest of broken POC, target next POC/value area.
30M session profile, Daily for composite, multi-session for naked POC identification
Track naked POCs on your chart — when price finally reaches them (sometimes days or weeks later), the reaction is often significant. Naked POCs represent unfinished business.
The Depth of Market, also known as the order book ladder, displays all resting limit orders at each price level above and below the current market price. DOM analysis reveals where institutional participants have placed large orders, helping traders identify genuine support and resistance levels created by actual liquidity rather than historical price patterns alone.
Market Profile organises price data into 30-minute periods called TPOs (Time Price Opportunities), creating a bell-curve distribution that reveals market behaviour patterns. Developed by J. Peter Steidlmayer at the CBOT, Market Profile identifies day types (Normal, Trend, Double Distribution, etc.) and provides a statistical framework for understanding auction market theory.
Delta is the difference between aggressive buying volume (market orders hitting the ask) and aggressive selling volume (market orders hitting the bid) within a candle or time period. Cumulative delta tracks the running total over time. Divergence between price and cumulative delta reveals whether rallies/selloffs have genuine buyer/seller conviction.
Footprint charts display the actual volume traded at each price level within a candle, broken down by aggressive buyers (market orders hitting the ask) and aggressive sellers (market orders hitting the bid). This granular view reveals exactly where buying and selling pressure occurs, exposing absorption, exhaustion, and imbalance patterns invisible on standard charts.