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The 2 Footprint Charts That Changed My Trading — Transcript

by Christopher Creamer | Orderflow Trader · 3,038 words · 430 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Most people think that reading order
0:01flow means more tools, more indicators,
0:04more charts, or some secret thing that
0:06they haven't found yet. Now, I trade
0:09Nasdaq futures or NQ futures, and I'm
0:11mainly looking at two charts. Now, I do
0:14have different time frames, but it's
0:15mainly two different templates. That's
0:18it, just two. And the reason why I use
0:20two templates is because each one does
0:22its job. One chart tells me where to
0:24look, and the other chart tells me who
0:26is actually there. And once you see how
0:28they fit together, the whole thing gets
0:31a lot more simple than people make it.
0:33So, in the next few minutes, I'm going
0:34to walk you through both charts, what
0:36each one is actually for, and how I
0:38actually use them together when price
0:39comes into a level. So, let's start with
0:41the main one. Now, let's take a quick
0:43break to talk about the sponsor of this
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1:41get the best deal on any of these prop
1:43firms by using code match. Now, let's
1:45get back into the video. All right, so
1:47this is my main chart. You probably see
1:50it when I'm on stream, and this is the
1:52chart that I'm actually showing on the
1:53screen, and it's a footprint chart. So,
1:56if you're new to order flow, all
1:57footprint does is show you inside every
2:00single candle who traded at each price.
2:02You have buyers on one side, and you
2:04have sellers on the other. Now, when I'm
2:07watching this in the mornings or I'm
2:09watching this while I'm trading, I'm not
2:11necessarily reading every single number,
2:13and more often than not, most people
2:15aren't. But, I'm scanning this chart for
2:17a few specific things. First, I'm
2:19looking at where volume was actually
2:21concentrating. Inside each of these
2:23candles, there's a little volume
2:25profile. And it's pretty simple on what
2:28I'm actually looking at. I'm looking at
2:30the point of control for each candle,
2:32and I'm looking at where business was
2:33actually concentrating or where
2:35transactions were concentrating within
2:37that 5-minute candle or 1-minute candle
2:40or even 15-minute candle. [music] So,
2:42when I'm reading the volume profile, I'm
2:44just paying attention to where people
2:46did business in relation to the body of
2:49the candle and where the POC is actually
2:51sitting. Now, the second thing that I'm
2:53looking for inside of these candles are
2:56imbalances. This is when one side
2:59massively outweighs the other side at a
3:01price, and this chart lights it up in
3:03bold numbers. So, when you see that on
3:05my chart, it's basically a spot where
3:07one side was leaning on the other hard.
3:09Now, the third thing on this chart that
3:11you may see is big trades. So, when a
3:13large player steps in or a large amount
3:16of transactions step in all at the same
3:18time, I see it. In the bottom strip
3:20here, what this is showing me is it's
3:22showing me delta on top and volume right
3:24below. So, it's per candle. So, if this
3:27is a 5-minute time frame, it's showing
3:29me for every 5-minute candle what the
3:32candle's total net delta was as well as
3:35what the total volume was for each
3:36individual candle at a glance. And I
3:38have that just so that I don't have to
3:40add anything up, and I can just quickly
3:43scan what is happening for every
3:45individual candle. So, when you put all
3:47of that together, this chart becomes
3:50basically like my radar. Participation
3:53building is only half the read. The
3:55other half is did that effort actually
3:57move price? Because if a level, for
4:00example, is seeing tons of volume, big
4:03trades, imbalances, and price is just
4:06sitting there and not going anywhere,
4:08well, that's a flag. And that's effort
4:10with no result. And somebody is doing a
4:12lot of work and getting nothing for it.
4:14And when I see that, well, this chart
4:16has done its job. It's basically raised
4:18its hand and said, "Something is
4:20happening at this level." But this chart
4:22doesn't show me one thing that I
4:23actually need to know. It doesn't show
4:25me who was there at these extremes
4:27necessarily, buyers or sellers. And
4:29that's the purpose of the second chart.
4:31Before I show you the second chart, I
4:33need to explain one idea, because the
4:35second chart is built entirely around
4:38this concept, and it's absorption.
4:40Absorption is pretty simple. One side
4:41gets aggressive, they push hard, they
4:43throw size, and price just doesn't move.
4:46There is no price progression for that
4:48effort. And that's really it. Aggression
4:50with no result. If buyers are hammering
4:53and price won't go up, that means that
4:55someone is on the other side sitting
4:56there absorbing every order they throw.
4:59Passive sellers soaking it all up. The
5:01buyers are doing all the work, but the
5:03sellers are quietly winning. So, when I
5:06see heavy aggression at the extreme of a
5:08candle and price isn't getting that
5:11follow-through, well, then that's the
5:13tell. The side that pushed or the side
5:15that is attempting to push is failing.
5:17Now, the hard part of absorption is
5:20spotting who was aggressive right at the
5:23extreme. And you have to do it fast, and
5:25you have to do it in real time. So,
5:27that's the purpose of the second chart
5:28that I'm about to show you. So, this is
5:31the second chart. Now, what this is is
5:33very similar to the first chart, but
5:35there's a key difference here. This one
5:37has a delta profile for the individual
5:39candle. It's still showing me the bid by
5:41ask. It's still showing me the POC. But
5:44this one's colored by delta. Now, blue
5:46is where buyers were aggressive. Red is
5:49where sellers were aggressive at every
5:51single price level inside of this
5:53candle. And then, there's this, these
5:55diamonds that are sitting in the wicks
5:58of these candles. Now, here's the part
6:01that looks backwards, and it's backwards
6:03on purpose. When sellers get aggressive
6:06here at the bottom of this candle and
6:08price doesn't follow through, this
6:10prince of blue diamond, blue even though
6:12it was selling. Why? Because I don't
6:15color it for who pushed, I color it for
6:17who held. Heavy selling at a low with no
6:21follow through means passive buyers
6:22absorbed it. Buyers held, so it's blue.
6:24Same thing up top. Heavy buying into a
6:27high with no follow through, sellers
6:29held, red diamond. So, once you get used
6:31to it, the chart speaks in conclusions.
6:34Blue diamond at a low, buyers held here.
6:36Red diamond at a high, sellers held
6:38here. I don't have to translate it in my
6:40head. The chart already did it for me.
6:43Now, one thing about these diamonds, the
6:45diamond just flags heavy delta that
6:47showed up at the extreme or in the wick
6:49of these candles. It doesn't mean
6:51absorption all by itself. I still have
6:54to look and confirm that price didn't
6:56actually follow through. The diamond
6:57points me at a spot or it points me at
6:59these spots, but I still have to confirm
7:02the read. So, let me show you how
7:04exactly these two charts work as a pair
7:07because this is the whole reason that I
7:09run both of these at the same time. All
7:11right, so we're going to look at an
7:12example. And now, the colors look
7:14different because I had to go back to
7:15ATAS instead of ATAS X. It's the same
7:18chart, it's the same template, the
7:20colors are just slightly different. So,
7:21in this case, you know, buyers are going
7:23to be green, sellers are going to be
7:25red. The diamonds that are showing that
7:27buyers held are going to be green, and
7:29the diamonds showing that sellers held
7:31are going to be red. So, on this day,
7:33we're looking at both of these charts
7:35now. If we're looking at Tanuki's replay
7:38mode for how the intraday levels were
7:40changing for zero DTE gamma levels.
7:43We're paying attention right to C3. That
7:45is sitting here at 30,945.
7:48Now, as price is approaching this, I'm
7:50paying attention first to this chart, to
7:52the participation. So, we're pushing up
7:55into a large positive GEX node. For now,
7:58all you need to know is that it's
8:00potentially a level where price could
8:01stall out. So, I'm already watching it
8:03closely. I want to see what happens once
8:05we actually get up here. So, as I'm
8:08watching this on my main chart, I can
8:10see participation actually building
8:12here. Volume is stacking into this
8:14level. We have a large buyer printing,
8:16and we're watching to see if price is
8:18actually going to get follow-through or
8:19if we're going to begin to stall. So,
8:21here we are. We are having
8:22participation. We're seeing if we can
8:24get follow-through. We're watching the
8:26buyers lift the offer. And let me pause
8:29it right here. Price is pushing into
8:31this level, and yet we're stalling.
8:34We're not having that follow-through
8:36that we're looking for if we're going to
8:37continue higher. Big buyer steps in. A
8:40lot of effort, price doesn't go
8:41anywhere. That's effort with no result
8:44so far. And that's my main flag as I'm
8:48watching this push into this level.
8:50So, this main chart has done its job.
8:52It's told me something is happening
8:54right here. So, that's when I go and
8:56look at the second chart. And the
8:58question that this second chart is
8:59trying to answer for me is who is
9:02actually here at the extremes? Was it
9:05buyers or was it sellers? And so, here
9:07is what I see at this exact same level.
9:10At the highs, in the wicks of these
9:11candles, we see aggressive buyers,
9:15positive delta. They're pushing into the
9:17top. It's heavy. It's building this
9:19positive delta, and the diamonds are
9:21firing off, but there's no
9:23follow-through. Price isn't going
9:24anywhere. And now we're watching sellers
9:26begin to step back in. That's it. That's
9:28the read. Aggressive buyers throwing
9:30everything at the highs into this level,
9:33and they're getting absorbed. Sellers
9:34are holding. So, this is obvious
9:36absorption that we're witnessing through
9:38this delta profile on this footprint
9:40chart. Right there. And I can see it
9:42happening in real time very quickly
9:45because [music] the two charts told me
9:47where to look and who was actually here.
9:50Who was aggressive and who was
9:51participating at this area. And in this
9:53case, it's buyers. So, at that point, if
9:55you were watching both of these charts
9:57and this was a level that you were
9:58paying attention to and maybe context,
10:01bias, location, and everything else in
10:04the way that you trade begin to line up
10:06for this trade idea and you were looking
10:09for shorts, now you're witnessing buyers
10:11getting absorbed at a level. You're
10:13watching them push up aggressively. You
10:15see the aggression in the extremes of
10:17the candle or the wicks and they're not
10:19getting any type of follow through. Now
10:21we're watching selling activity start
10:22stepping in and dominance is beginning
10:24to shift hands. We're going from a
10:26positive 2,000 delta to as of right now
10:30a negative 2,000 delta and you could
10:32potentially look to try and enter this
10:34trade for a short position with your
10:37stop loss above where the buyers failed
10:39in the event that you're trying to take
10:41it down and that's the trade idea that
10:42you were looking for. So, this candle
10:44now closes, right? We push up into a
10:47level. How do we read this? Here's our
10:50level we're paying attention to. Maybe
10:52we're looking if we're going to get past
10:54it, if we're going to accept above the
10:55positive GEX node or if we're going to
10:58begin to reject. We come into the level,
11:00we see buyers stepping in aggressively,
11:01we see participation building in these
11:03candles through the volume profiles and
11:06we notice that who is actually here at
11:07the extremes? Well, it's buyers and we
11:09can tell that from this chart because we
11:11have the positive delta building with no
11:13follow through. The diamonds are firing
11:15off and now we're getting the dominant
11:17shifting back to the downside. How do we
11:18know it's shifting back to the downside?
11:20In this candle, once it closes, we now
11:22have a negative 4,000 delta. So, we go
11:25from a positive 2,000 delta to a
11:27negative 4,000 delta. We're watching
11:29dominant shift hands. Now, here's
11:31something to note. A lot of traders will
11:33actually read this type of thing through
11:35CVD. They watch for a divergence and
11:38that works, but I just prefer these two
11:41charts. And the reason why is it's it's
11:43just faster for me and it's how I first
11:45learned to read it. And honestly, I do
11:47find it a little bit more granular
11:49because instead of reading it off of a
11:51CVD line, I can see who is actually at
11:54each price level at the extremes of the
11:56candle and I just prefer to view it that
11:58way and visualize it that way. It's the
12:00same information at the end of the day,
12:02but I just like getting there this way.
12:04Now, there's actually a second way that
12:07I use this chart, but it's secondary, so
12:10I'm going to keep it pretty short. Once
12:11I'm actually in a trade, I watch this
12:14delta profile on the footprint candles
12:16to see if my side, for example, in this
12:19example, let's say it's sellers, keep
12:21getting the follow-through. Now, if I
12:22were to be long, then I want to see
12:24buyers keep showing up and price keeps
12:27responding. Good, my read is still
12:29working. The trade's still going in my
12:31direction. It's still getting
12:32follow-through with that aggression. If
12:35aggression starts drying up or getting
12:38absorbed against me and not getting that
12:40follow-through, well, then that's
12:42potentially information. And what I do
12:44with that information or what I act on
12:47or how I may manage a position, let's
12:49say if we were short, for when I move to
12:51break even or when I begin to trail stop
12:54and where I trail stop, well, that's for
12:57a whole 'nother video. For now, just
12:59know that's the second job that this
13:01chart actually does for me and how I use
13:04it for my trading every single day. It's
13:07my live check that the move I'm in is
13:10still real and it's still going. So,
13:12that's the setup. It's mainly just these
13:14two chart templates. Yes, I'm looking at
13:16different time frames as well, but a lot
13:18of people may ask me like, "Why not
13:20more? Why not just put it all in one
13:21chart? Or why not add CVD? Or why not
13:24just add everything to a single chart?"
13:26I try and keep it pretty clean when I'm
13:29reading this. I care a lot about speed
13:32in terms of how fast I could read
13:33something, and adding more to a single
13:36chart or adding everything on one chart
13:39doesn't necessarily give you more edge.
13:41It could potentially just add noise,
13:43especially when you're starting out.
13:45Every extra thing that you add on your
13:47chart is one more thing that's pulling
13:50your eyes away from the read that
13:52actually matters. And these two charts
13:55that I use, they cover it. One finds the
13:57level and tells me if effort is actually
14:00producing result, the other one tells me
14:02who's actually at the extremes, buyers
14:04or sellers. So, I have where and who.
14:07That's the whole question, and that's
14:09the whole answer. One chart finds the
14:11level, the other one tells me who won
14:13it. That's the whole thing I'm looking
14:15at when it comes to basically my
14:17footprint charts. Now, everything I
14:19showed you today starts with one
14:20assumption, that I'm already at a level
14:22worth watching. Now, both of these
14:24charts and the way that I'm reading it
14:26only matter only work because I knew or
14:29had a level that mattered to me before
14:32price ever got there. And building that
14:34context or building that bias or
14:36understanding location or what levels
14:39actually matter before the session opens
14:42is [music] an entire process on its own.
14:45Now, if you want those chart templates,
14:47you can download them, they're free, and
14:49you can check the description down
14:51below, and you can add it to your charts
14:52in ATAS. Also, another thing to mention
14:55is that Tanuki Trade just added [music]
14:58replay mode to their intraday Greeks
15:00levels for zero DTE. So, if you ever
15:03want to go back and backtest using
15:06footprint with ATAS and using Tanuki
15:09Trade for gamma levels, well, now you
15:10can do that. And if you want to do that,
15:12check the description down below or use
15:14code never flat for 10% off or 7-day
15:17free trial. If you guys have any
15:18questions about how I'm actually using
15:20these two charts, feel free to ask me in
15:22the comment section down below, and I'll
15:23catch you guys next time I make a video.
15:25Peace.

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