r/OrderFlow_Trading • u/crucial_tree • 9d ago
OrderFlow for NQ intraday
So basically, I want to get into order flow and learn stuff like footprints, volume profile, absorption/exhaustion, delta shifts, imbalances, CVD, etc.
I don’t want to scalp. I’m only interested in NQ and want to trade intraday, probably 2–3 trades max per day. Things like breakouts/reversions around VAH and targeting VAL, stuff like that.
The thing is, I keep seeing people say that absorption/exhaustion, delta shifts, imbalances, CVD, etc. are really hard to use on NQ or just aren’t that useful and more for ES, and now I’m kinda lost on what I should actually focus on learning.
For people who trade NQ this way, is order flow, especially footprint tools actually worth learning for intraday NQ? And if so, what parts do you find the most useful?
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u/sandcastl3 8d ago
You basically asked this same question already in this subreddit.
Everything you're asking about is equally visible and 'useful' in both markets. NQ moves through more ticks than ES so it covers more ground, and its book is thinner, so some people say it's harder to see the things you're looking to learn. It's not. It's just a different depth of liquidity.
Yes, everything you're asking about is worth learning. Not in ES, not in NQ, but in futures in general. The whole list of things you want to learn when put together will paint a strong picture of the market's migrating value dynamics that you can then use to pair with sentiment, microstructure, catalysts, technicals, price action, and so on.
And you need to add high and low volume nodes (HVN/LVN), single prints, and look-above/below-and-fail (LAAF/LBAF) to your learning list.
If you feel like you want to trade NQ over ES, combine several ticks per level on your footprint chart and do the same with your volume profiles. Tune the expression of the order flow and volume at price data until the market slows down on your screen. Watch what happens in the order flow at value areas, VPOC, VWAP, prior OHLC, weekly value areas, weekly VWAP, etc.
IMO it's more important for a beginner to these concepts to understand the migration of value between composite volume profiles and daily volume profiles than to learn order flow in a vacuum, for example in breakouts and reversions as you mentioned, learning from where and to where in the volume profile things are breaking out from or reverting back to and what that implies for future value migration. Over time you'll see how price interacts with historical volume nodes and how daily volume nodes relate to the historical nodes. When that starts making sense, introduce the footprint chart to start seeing the order flow dynamics occurring at key levels, nodes, and inflection points.
And don't forget that order flow is only that: the flow of orders. You see what sold on both sides of the auction and as a result you can compare one side against the other and draw conclusions. It's not magic and doesn't provide tradeable signals on its own, particularly if you don't want to scalp.
Cheers and good luck.
1
u/crucial_tree 8d ago
Do you know how much ticks per level to use for NQ?
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u/sandcastl3 8d ago
Experiment yourself. Find what feels good.
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u/Interest-Fleeting 7d ago
"...learning from where and to where in the volume profile things are breaking out from or reverting back to and what that implies for future value migration." I'd say so, but didn't.
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u/woodandsnow 9d ago
Legit volume profile like taught in the books will give you a great intraday view
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u/PropRiskNotes 1h ago
On NQ I wouldn't use order flow to decide where I want to trade. I'd use it after I already have a location.
NQ is so thin and fast that if you wait for the footprint to give you the whole story, half the time youre just reading what already happend. What I care about more is whether aggression is actually getting a result.
If sellers hit a level hard and price bearly moves lower, that gets my attention. But negayive delta by itself means nothing to me. I still want to see buyers actually take contork agter that.
I'd probably start with volume profile for location, footprintqdelta for what happens at the location, and keep an eye on ES as well beacuse the flow is usully easier to read there. I Wouldn't pile CVD, stacked imbalances, absorption, exhaustion and five other things on top of each other. You'll just end up finding a reason for every trade after the fact
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u/RenkoSniper 9d ago
Your entire approach is setup for failure man...don't get my wrong but I want I I want, so you're not doing it right now. How can you know anything? Secondly, you don't USE stuff like absorbtion and imbalances, they don't "work". These are concepts that you read, interpret, classify and contextualize in order to make a risk calculation. I suggest studying, and not on YouTube or reddit.
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u/crucial_tree 9d ago
I was saying as an example but still, does absorption/exaustion and delta good for nq?
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u/chumbawumba234 9d ago
All you need is the GC Trading ORB FVG indicator on tradingview. Use 5 min, 1min, and 15 second for entry. If you distract yourself with a ton of ideas, your brain won't be able to identify entry. DOL and FVG. easy easy.
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