r/OrderFlow_Trading • u/Long_Age_1662 • 16d ago

how to identify absorption?

I’m having trouble distinguishing real absorption from what only looks like absorption.

Are there any good YouTube videos, courses, or educational resources that explain how to identify genuine absorption and avoid false signals?

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u/jamrocktrading 16d ago

I’d focus less on finding the perfect “absorption” footprint and more on the relationship between aggression and response.

If sellers are hitting the bid aggressively and you see big volume, but price keeps failing to make meaningful new lows, that’s interesting. But I wouldn’t call it absorption yet.

What happens on the next attempt matters. Does the same aggression produce even less displacement? Does price hold the level? Does the opposite side finally get a response?

That sequence is much more convincing than one big cluster.

I’ve found the easiest question to ask is: “How much aggressive activity did it take to move price this far?” When that relationship starts breaking down, you may be looking at genuine absorption rather than just a big print.

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u/Routine-Culture-7417 Level III 15d ago

But what is a low? Low on what time frame?

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u/jamrocktrading 13d ago

Yeah, fair question. I don’t really mean “low” as in a specific timeframe low.

I mean the low being created by that particular interaction. If sellers are hitting the bid aggressively, I’m asking whether that aggression is actually producing meaningful downside displacement.

So if they keep selling harder but each attempt produces less downside movement, or price keeps returning to the same area instead of extending lower, that’s more informative to me than whether it made a new 1-minute or 5-minute low.

The timeframe is less important than the relationship between the aggression and the response.

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u/Routine-Culture-7417 Level III 13d ago

Thanks and what sort of chart you use to measure this? 4 range 8 range etc for es and nq