Market Profile
A chart that stacks the day sideways to show how long price spent at each level.
Why it mattersWhere price spent time is where buyers and sellers agreed. Those areas pull price back.
Indicators for Pro Traders · User Tutorials
MirraCharts Tutorials
In-depth guides for every MirraCharts indicator on NinjaTrader 8 — from install to your first trade, and every engine along the way: Market Profile, Order Flow, Open Interest, Volume×OI Fusion, microstructure, Basis Analytics, the AI modes and Mirra Memory.
01
Choose your tutorial
Market Profile · Chart indicator
Mirra Advanced Market Profile
From install to your first trade — read the auction, the Open Interest behind it, and let the four AI modes guide the decision.
OI + fusion8 day typesAI 4 modesSelf learning
Open the tutorial →Market Profile · Market AnalyzerMirra Market Profile Scanner
Rank a whole watchlist by auction structure and Open-Interest commitment — build the radar, read the signed values, act only where it matters.
45+ metricsOI columnsAlerts built in100+ symbols
Open the tutorial →Order Flow · Chart indicatorMirra Advanced OF Charts
Read the footprint, the Open Interest behind every bar, and institutional microstructure — with five AI modes and a memory that learns your instrument.
OI quadrantsVPIN + λAI 5 modesL2 ready
Open the tutorial →Order Flow · Market AnalyzerMirraAvdOFScanner
Run the Mirra order-flow and OI engine across 100+ instruments — read the signed metrics, catch every event, and let alerts find the setups.
35+ metricsOI columnsAlerts built in100+ symbols
Open the tutorial →02
Start here
Every tutorial opens with a five-minute install, then teaches you to read the tool before diving into features, Open Interest and the AI modes.
Install & activate
Download, run the installer, and activate with your Machine ID. Enable Open Interest with an Accelpix OI subscription.
Open Interest, explained
Buildup, OI-POC, OI value area and migration — see whether traders committed where price traded.
OI on the footprint
New Long vs Short Covering on every bar, OI traps and graded absorption.
The AI modes
Pro, Beginner, Simple and Coach — the same intelligence in the voice that fits how you trade.
03
Core concepts
Shared vocabulary across every Mirra product. Terms mean the same thing in the chart and in the scanner.
TPOTime Price Opportunity — one letter marking that a price traded during a given time bracket
POCPoint of Control — the price with the greatest activity; the session’s fair value and magnet
VAH / VALValue Area High / Low — the boundaries containing the configured share (default 70%) of activity
Value areaThe price range where most business was conducted — the market’s accepted zone
Initial Balance (IB)The range established in the session’s first periods, by default the first hour
Range extensionPrice trading beyond the Initial Balance — evidence of directional initiative
Single printA row touched in only one TPO period; a gap left by a fast move, usually revisited
TailA run of single prints at an extreme, showing aggressive responsive buying or selling
Poor high / lowA flat extreme with no excess — an unfinished auction, likely to be revisited
Weak high / lowAn extreme with only a single row of excess — marginal quality
HVN / LVNHigh / Low Volume Node — an acceptance shelf that stalls price, or a thin zone it moves through quickly
Naked POCA prior session’s POC that price has not yet returned to — a strong multi-day magnet
DeltaNet aggressive buying minus aggressive selling
VWAPVolume Weighted Average Price for the session — the institutional benchmark
Balance / rotationA market trading around fair value; favours fading the extremes
InitiativeOne side pushing price away from value; favours joining the move
CompositeA profile built from several sessions combined — weekly, monthly, or a rolling group
IBRInitial Balance Range — the size of the IB in points
Open Interest (OI)The number of futures contracts currently held open. Rising OI = new positions; falling OI = positions closing.
Long buildupPrice rising while OI rises — new longs entering. The strongest bullish state.
Short buildupPrice falling while OI rises — new shorts entering. The strongest bearish state.
Short coveringPrice rising while OI falls — shorts closing rather than new buyers. A hollow rally.
Long unwindingPrice falling while OI falls — longs exiting rather than new shorts. Often a dip, not a trend.
OI-POCThe price with the greatest open-interest concentration — where the most positions were opened.
ACIAuction Conviction Index (1–99): how committed the session is, from fresh flow, OI shift and buildup.
VPINFlow-toxicity measure — how one-sided recent order flow is. High = informed, aggressive flow.
BasisThe gap between the futures price and the underlying spot — premium or discount.
Get the indicators
Download from either page, then activate with your Machine ID. All Mirra indicators are exclusive to Accelpix Live Data subscribers; the Open Interest features need an active Accelpix OI data subscription — the recommended data vendor.
◆
Glossary — market words in plain English
Every term the Mirra indicators use, explained in one line — and why a trader should care. 70 terms. Tap a dotted word anywhere in these tutorials to see the same card.
TPO
“Time Price Opportunity” — one letter for every half-hour price traded at a level.
Why it mattersCounting letters instead of volume shows how long a price was accepted, not just how much traded.
Value area
The price band where about 70% of the day’s activity happened.
Why it mattersInside it, the market is comfortable. Outside it, one side is in control.
POC
Point of Control — the single price with the most activity that session.
Why it mattersThe fairest price of the day. Price keeps coming back to it, so it works as a magnet.
VAH and VAL
The top and bottom edges of the value area.
Why it mattersMost trading days turn around at these two lines. Breaking one usually starts a trend.
Naked POC
An old POC that price has never come back to touch.
Why it mattersUnfinished business. Price often travels back to it days later.
Initial balance (IB)
The high and low of the first hour of the session.
Why it mattersIt sets the day’s starting range. Breaking it early usually means a trending day.
Range extension
Trading beyond the first-hour range.
Why it mattersTells you fresh money is pushing, not just the same traders rotating.
Day type
A label for how the day is behaving, such as trend day or normal day.
Why it mattersEach type has its own playbook — you trade a trend day very differently from a balanced day.
Single print
A price level that traded only once, leaving a gap in the profile.
Why it mattersMarks a fast, one-sided move. Price often returns to fill it.
Poor high / poor low
A high or low that ended flat instead of in a sharp point.
Why it mattersThe auction stopped without finishing. That level usually gets tested again.
Volume profile
The same sideways view, but counting traded volume instead of time.
Why it mattersShows where the most contracts changed hands, which is where real interest sits.
Order flow
Watching the actual buy and sell orders behind each candle.
Why it mattersA candle tells you the result. Order flow tells you how it happened.
Footprint
A candle opened up to show the buying and selling at every price inside it.
Why it mattersYou see exactly where the pressure came from, instead of guessing from the shape.
Bid and ask
The bid is the best price a buyer will pay; the ask is the lowest a seller will take.
Why it mattersTrades at the ask mean buyers are chasing. Trades at the bid mean sellers are hitting.
Delta
Buying at the ask minus selling at the bid, for a bar or a session.
Why it mattersA quick read of which side was aggressive. Positive is buyers, negative is sellers.
Cumulative delta
Delta added up across the session.
Why it mattersShows the session’s running pressure, not just one bar’s.
Delta divergence
Price goes one way while delta goes the other.
Why it mattersA warning that the move is not backed by real aggression.
Imbalance
Far more buying than selling (or the reverse) at neighbouring prices.
Why it mattersMarks the prices where one side actually forced the move.
Absorption
Heavy aggressive buying or selling that fails to move price.
Why it mattersSomeone large is quietly taking the other side. Moves often reverse right there.
Exhaustion
Aggression dries up at the end of a push.
Why it mattersThe fuel has run out, so the move is likely finished.
Trapped traders
Traders who entered and are now offside on the position.
Why it mattersThey must eventually buy or sell to get out, which fuels the next move.
Cost basis
The average price at which one side built its positions.
Why it mattersTells you the level the losing side needs, and where they are likely to give up.
VWAP
Volume Weighted Average Price — the average price weighted by size traded.
Why it mattersInstitutions measure their fills against it, so it acts as a fair-value line.
Sigma bands
Bands drawn a set distance above and below VWAP.
Why it mattersThey show when price has stretched unusually far from fair value.
Open interest (OI)
The number of futures or options contracts still open.
Why it mattersVolume says how much traded. Open interest says whether positions were created or closed.
Buildup
Price moves and open interest rises, so new positions are being created.
Why it mattersNew money entering. The move usually has staying power.
Short covering
Price rises while open interest falls — shorts are closing, not new buyers arriving.
Why it mattersA squeeze, not real demand. It stops when the last short is out.
Long unwinding
Price falls while open interest falls — longs are leaving.
Why it mattersA fall without conviction, so it often dries up rather than turning into a trend.
OI-POC
The price where the most new positions were built.
Why it mattersCommitted money sits there, which is why it gets defended.
OI migration
The way the OI-POC shifts up or down from session to session.
Why it mattersShows the direction positions are moving, ahead of the price trend.
Churn
Lots of volume but almost no change in open interest.
Why it mattersContracts are changing hands without new commitment — noise, not a trend.
Basis
The gap between the futures price and the spot (cash) price.
Why it mattersA stretched gap tends to snap back, which is a risk if you are chasing.
VPIN
A measure of how one-sided and “toxic” the current flow is.
Why it mattersHigh readings mean informed traders are active and normal-size orders move price against you.
Kyle’s lambda
How far price moves per thousand lots traded.
Why it mattersA thin-book warning: the same order size hurts more when this is high.
Microprice
A fair price between bid and ask, weighted by the size on each side.
Why it mattersA more honest “current price” than the midpoint when one side is much bigger.
Liquidity sweep / stop run
A quick push through an obvious level to trigger resting stop orders.
Why it mattersIt creates the volume a large player needs, then price often turns straight back.
Iceberg order
A large order that only shows a small part of itself at a time.
Why it mattersExplains why price keeps failing at one level even though the book looks thin.
Level 2 (L2)
The list of resting buy and sell orders above and below the current price.
Why it mattersShows where liquidity is waiting, though it can be pulled at any moment.
Scanner
A tool that runs the same analysis across a whole list of symbols at once.
Why it mattersInstead of flipping through charts, you get a ranked shortlist.
Market Analyzer
NinjaTrader’s grid window, where each row is a symbol and each column a value.
Why it mattersThis is where the Mirra scanners put their columns and alerts.
Session
One trading day for that market, from its open to its close.
Why it mattersEvery profile and every daily statistic is measured inside a session.
Trading hours template
The NinjaTrader setting that says when a market opens and closes.
Why it mattersGet it wrong and every session, profile and statistic is measured over the wrong window.
Tick
The smallest price step an instrument can move.
Why it mattersRow sizes, distances and targets are all counted in ticks.
Lot size
The number of units in one contract.
Why it mattersIt converts raw volume into the lots a trader actually thinks in.
Composite profile
Several sessions merged into one profile.
Why it mattersShows the bigger levels that a single day hides.
Conviction
A score for how committed the money behind a session is.
Why it mattersSeparates a move backed by real positioning from one that is just drifting.
Rotation factor
A count of how often the profile pushed up versus down through the day.
Why it mattersA simple read of whether the day is trending or rotating.
VPOC
Volume Point of Control — the price with the most traded volume in the session.
Why it mattersThe POC by time tells you where price was accepted longest; the VPOC tells you where the most contracts changed hands. Desks watch both.
nPOC (naked POC)
A previous session’s POC that price has not traded back to yet.
Why it mattersUnfinished business that acts as a magnet, often days later. Useful as a target rather than an entry.
CPOC (composite POC)
The POC of a composite profile — several sessions merged into one.
Why it mattersThe single fairest price over a week or a balance area, not just today. Bigger levels, bigger reactions.
CW-POC
The commitment-weighted POC — the POC once each price is weighted by the open interest built there.
Why it mattersWhen it sits away from the plain VPOC, the true magnet has moved and positioning is migrating before price does.
mPOC (migrating POC)
Each completed session’s POC joined into a line.
Why it mattersThe slope shows which way value is drifting — the positional trend behind the daily noise.
IBH and IBL
Initial Balance High and Low — the top and bottom of the first hour.
Why it mattersThey frame the day. Trade above IBH or below IBL and the session is extending rather than rotating.
HVN (High Volume Node)
A price shelf where a lot of trading has piled up.
Why it mattersPrice stalls and rotates here, so it makes natural support, resistance and a place to take profit.
LVN (Low Volume Node)
A thin price gap that was passed through quickly.
Why it mattersPrice accelerates through it. Good for breakout targets, poor for mean-reversion entries.
Buy tail
A run of single prints at the low, where price was rejected sharply upward.
Why it mattersShows a responsive buyer defended that low. That extreme is trustworthy until the tail is traded through.
Sell tail
The same thing at the high — a sharp rejection downward.
Why it mattersA responsive seller defended the high, so rallies into it are more likely to fail.
Weak high / weak low
An extreme with only a single row of rejection behind it.
Why it mattersMarginal quality. It may hold, but it is far easier to break than one with a proper tail.
Failed auction
Price pushes beyond an extreme and is rejected straight back into the range.
Why it mattersOne of the cleanest reversal signals: the market tried a new level and refused it.
Big trade
A single print larger than the size threshold you set.
Why it mattersIt marks the moment a large participant stepped in, and on which side of the book.
Buy imbalance
Far more buying at the ask than selling at the bid one row below.
Why it mattersBuyers were forced to pay up there. Those prices often act as support on a retest.
Sell imbalance
The mirror — heavy selling into the bid against the ask above it.
Why it mattersSellers hit the market there, so the level tends to cap rallies.
Stacked imbalance
Several imbalances in a row at neighbouring prices.
Why it mattersOne imbalance is noise; a stack is a deliberate push. These zones are where reversals and continuations start.
Delta flip
Delta changes sign with force — control passes from buyers to sellers or back.
Why it mattersOne of the earliest entry triggers, especially when it happens at a level you already care about.
Unfinished auction
A bar’s high or low that printed trades on both sides, with no clean rejection.
Why it mattersThe auction was cut short, so price is statistically likely to return there. A good target.
COT (change of trend)
Delta measured from the bar’s high (COT ↓) and from its low (COT ↑).
Why it mattersIt shows how hard each side was pressing right at the extreme — the fight a single delta figure hides.
Cumulative delta divergence
Price makes a new low but cumulative delta does not, or the reverse.
Why it mattersHidden accumulation or distribution: someone is buying the fall or selling the rally quietly.
Smart money flow
A composite of the institutional footprints — large prints, absorption and one-sided pressure.
Why it mattersSeparates quiet accumulation from retail churn, without you reading every bar.
Hurst exponent
A number that says whether a market has been trending or mean-reverting.
Why it mattersTells you whether to expect follow-through or a snap-back.
No match. Try “delta”, “POC” or “open interest”.