What is a footprint chart?
The beginner’s guide to footprint charts on NinjaTrader 8.
Learn order flow
Six concepts. That is the whole language.
Every one of these is drawn from real bid/ask volume — no indicators, no lag, no opinion. Learn them once and the chart stops being a mystery.
What is a footprint chart?
Bid vs ask volume at every single price. The foundation of order flow.
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Stacked imbalance
When 3+ consecutive levels tilt the same way, aggression is concentrating.
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Absorption
One side keeps hitting. The other keeps taking it. Price refuses to move.
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Delta divergence
Price makes a higher high. The buying behind it doesn't. A hollow move.
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Unfinished auction
A zero print means the auction finished. No zero means price may return.
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Volume profile, POC & value area
Where the market actually did business — not just where price travelled.
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Placing the trade
Where the idea lives, and where it dies. Invalidation first, entry second.
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Free guides
NinjaTrader 8 resources
Plain-English guides to reading the tape and protecting your account, written by a working trader. Start here, then grab the free cheat sheet.
How to read order flow
Footprint, imbalances, absorption, and delta, used at a level.
Absorption & stacked imbalances
Spot exhaustion at highs and lows before the turn.
Cumulative delta (CVD)
Read delta divergence, the hollow-move warning.
NT8 order-flow indicators compared
An honest comparison of the real options, by feature and cost.
Funded-account risk management
Keep your Apex / Topstep / TradeDay account alive.
Order-flow trading strategies
Four sim-first setups: absorption, imbalances, delta, traps.
Delta divergence explained
The four divergence types and how to read hollow moves.
Free order-flow indicators, reviewed
What “free” really means on NT8, and what to look for.
Read a footprint on NQ
Bar size, bid-ask columns, delta, imbalances and absorption.
Cumulative delta divergence
Spot the hollow move and confirm it on the footprint.