The state of the market, before everything else

Reading is not deciding. The seven readings of the previous module become a method when they always answer the same questions in the same order, and the first question is not even the gamma regime. Before anything else, the volume profile says whether the session is in balance or imbalance, and that state decides which setup family is playable. A change of structure traded without that context wins one time in two, at best.

The signs to read, in order

1. The shape of the day's profile. A bell is a balance. An elongated shape with a migrating POC is an imbalance.
2. The position of price relative to yesterday's value area. Inside: probable balance. Outside and accepted (several 5-minute candles closing outside the zone): imbalance.
3. The CVD. Flat or zigzagging with no direction: balance. Making new extremes with price: imbalance.
4. Behavior at the edges. Wicks poking out of the value area and coming back: balance. Closes settling beyond it: the market is accepting a new price.