Hi everyone,
I wanted to share a project I’ve been working on and get some feedback from the community.
For those who don’t know me, I’ve been developing custom indicators, strategies, and trading tools for traders across various platforms for several years now. If you’re interested, feel free to have a look through some of my previous posts and the feedback people have kindly left regarding my work. I’ve always tried to focus on building tools that solve practical trading problems rather than adding more noise to the chart.
Over the last year I’ve spent a significant amount of time studying order flow and exploring platforms such as Sierra Chart, MotiveWave, and ATAS. Like many traders, I was impressed by the information available through footprint charts, bid/ask analysis, delta, and other order flow tools.
However, I also found that while order flow can provide a tremendous edge, it can be difficult and overwhelming for many traders to read consistently in real time. After many attempts to replicate and simplify some of these concepts, I came to realise that the value isn’t necessarily in seeing every number on a footprint chart, but in identifying when aggressive participants are likely becoming trapped or when that aggression is likely to fuel further movement.
With that goal in mind, I developed the indicator shown in the screenshots below - so you do not need to read the footprint charts yourself.
The indicator analyses aggressive buying and selling activity and attempts to identify areas where:
• Large participants may be trapped and forced to exit.
• Aggressive participation is likely to become fuel for continuation.
• Significant order flow imbalances occur without requiring a footprint chart or constant bid/ask monitoring.
The idea is not to replace order flow, but rather to translate some of that information into a visual format that can be interpreted much more quickly.
How I personally use it:
TRAPPED BUYERS
When a large positive imbalance appears after an extended move higher and price fails to continue, it can indicate that aggressive buyers have entered late into the move and may now be trapped. If price starts trading back through that area, those participants often become fuel for a move in the opposite direction.
TRAPPED SELLERS
The opposite applies at lows. A large negative imbalance can sometimes indicate aggressive selling into support or exhaustion. If price fails to continue lower and begins moving higher, those sellers can become trapped and fuel a rally.
FUEL / CONTINUATION
Not every imbalance is a reversal signal.
Sometimes a large imbalance appears and price immediately accepts the move. In those situations, I view the imbalance as confirmation of aggressive participation and potential fuel for continuation rather than exhaustion.
The context around the signal is important. I generally pay attention to:
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Location within the broader structure.
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Whether the market is trending or ranging.
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How price behaves immediately after the imbalance occurs.
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Whether follow-through confirms or rejects the aggressive activity.
The screenshots below show a few examples of both trapped trader scenarios and continuation/fuel scenarios.
/NQ examples
/ES example
This is still something I actively use and continue to refine, so I’d genuinely appreciate any thoughts, questions, or feedback from the community.
If anyone is interested in learning more about it, testing it, or discussing how it works, feel free to drop me a message. I’m happy to chat and answer questions.
My email is timmfain@gmail.com
Thanks for taking the time to read.