1
Value Area
A selected percentage of profile volume concentrated around the POC.
Lesson · Volume and Order Flow
Value Area, POC, HVN, and LVN
Interpret value-area boundaries, high-volume nodes, and low-volume nodes as auction locations.
Core concepts
What to understand
Keep the interpretation direct: participation, aggressive side, and actual price progress.
2
HVN
A high-volume node where the market transacted heavily.
3
LVN
A low-volume node where the market transacted less and often moved quickly.
Interactive lab
Change the market conditions
Use the controls and read the “What the market is doing” explanation after each change.
Value Area, POC, HVN, and LVN Lab
Synthetic educational data · no live market connection
MARKET DATA
Reading process
Follow the reading steps
Do not jump from one number to a trade. Describe the evidence first.
Locate current price
Inside, above, below, or moving through a thin node?
Observe response
Acceptance means continued trade; rejection means return toward prior value.
State control
Outside acceptance identifies which side is maintaining progress.
Knowledge check
Check your interpretation
Select one answer for each question. Feedback appears immediately.
1. Price moves above VAH and stays there. What is occurring?
The market is building trade above the prior value area.
2. Price briefly moves above VAH then returns inside. This is:
Buyers failed to maintain trade outside prior value.
3. An LVN is best described as:
LVNs mark comparatively thin activity in the chosen profile.
4. A profile totals 10,000 contracts. Built out from the POC, the value area holds 6,600 so far and the larger neighbouring bin holds 800. Is that neighbour added?
6,600 ÷ 10,000 = 66%, short of 70%, so the larger neighbour is added: 7,400 ÷ 10,000 = 74%. The area overshoots the target slightly, which is why the lab says approximately 70%.
Practical rules
- Use value as a zone, not an exact tick.
- Acceptance requires time or follow-through outside value.
- LVNs are transition areas, not guaranteed acceleration.
Common mistakes
- Calling every VAH touch a short.
- Assuming value equals intrinsic worth.
- Ignoring how the profile range was selected.
References
Official reading
The lab is simplified; these sources provide the underlying market and execution definitions.
CME Group · What is Volume?
Official overview of how futures volume is counted and interpreted.