Published
The principle
The volume profile flips the view: instead of volume over time, it shows volume by price. It surfaces the POC (point of control, the most-traded price), the value area (where most trading happened) and low-volume gaps. These are the reference levels the market likes to revisit.
What DeepCharts does better
Deep V-Tracker computes volume-profile ranges where it matters, and DeepCharts adds the swing profile and VWAP (daily, weekly, monthly, with manual drawing) in the same order-flow environment. You don't read a profile in isolation: you read it above the footprint and liquidity, on granular data.
Using it day to day
Day to day, use it to frame your levels: the POC and value-area edges make excellent decision points, VWAP serves as a session reference. A return to the POC is often an opportunity; a break out of value area, a sign of acceptance of a new price.
Example: the FDAX opens above yesterday's value area, then drops back into it. The upper edge of that value area, paired with VWAP, offers a clean reaction zone: the flow shows absorption there, price rejects, the reference held.
⚠ The trap to avoid
The trap: treating the POC as a mechanical magnet. Volume-profile levels are references, not guarantees: without flow confirmation when price tests them, they're just lines. Trend context decides whether they act as a bounce or a springboard.
Combine it with
Combine it with the footprint and delta (to confirm the reaction at a level) and Deep-M Effort (for bias): the profile says where, order flow says whether it holds.
FAQ
What is the POC in a volume profile?+
The Point Of Control: the price where the most volume traded over the period. It's a reference level the market tends to revisit.
What is the value area?+
The price zone where most volume happened (often ~70%). Its edges act as decision levels: staying inside = balance, leaving it = acceptance of a new price.
Volume profile or footprint?+
They complement each other: the volume profile locates reference prices (where), the footprint shows real-time aggression at those prices (how the market reacts there).
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