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Stacked Imbalances

The overlay that highlights zones on the footprint where one side dominated across several consecutive price rows within the same candle. Cell tints, bracket markers, optional retest rays — driven by configurable detection ratio, mode, and minimum stack size.

Stacked Imbalances is the overlay that highlights zones on the footprint where one side — aggressive buyers or aggressive sellers — dominated across several consecutive price rows within the same candle. A single imbalanced row is common noise; stacked imbalances are the meaningful pattern, and the chart can detect, draw, and persist them automatically until price re-tests the level. Enable from Footprint Settings → Detection → Stacked Imbalances.

What an imbalance is

At any single price level inside a bar, two numbers are recorded:

  • Aggressive buys — market orders and IOC/FAK buys that lifted the offer at that price.
  • Aggressive sells — market orders and IOC/FAK sells that hit the bid at that price.

When one side is many times larger than the other at the same or one-tick-adjacent price level, that row is called imbalanced.

A single imbalanced row is unremarkable on its own. What matters is when multiple rows in a row show the same directional lopsidedness — that is a stacked imbalance, suggesting sustained pressure rather than a one-tick accident.

How the chart marks stacked zones

When detection is on and a qualified zone is found, the chart can show up to three visual layers. You pick which appear in the Display tab of Footprint Settings.

1 — Cell tinting (default on)

Each cell inside the stack gets a colour tint on the side that was dominant:

  • Green tint on the right side → aggressive buyers dominated at this price.
  • Red tint on the left side → aggressive sellers dominated.

Cells that are part of a full qualifying stack get a stronger tint than isolated single-row imbalances, making the zone easy to spot without scanning numbers manually.

In Bid×Ask mode the tint applies directly to the bid and ask bars. In Delta and Volume modes the cell background changes instead.

2 — Stack bracket (default on)

A small bracket marker appears at the edge of the candle where the zone formed:

Code
  ]   ← bullish stack (buyers dominated)
  [   ← bearish stack (sellers dominated)

The bracket is three short lines. It stays anchored to the origin candle — it does not move or extend forward. Use it to immediately spot which candle generated the zone when scrolling history.

3 — Retest ray (optional, off by default)

A horizontal line extends from the zone's price range forward in time until price re-tests the zone level.

  • When price returns to the zone level the line ends (zone is "filled").
  • If Keep Filled Rays is on, the line continues in a faded style to show the historical sequence of tests.
  • Origin Box adds a shaded rectangle behind the source candle for easier markup when reviewing charts.

The retest ray is an advanced visual. If you find it clutters the chart, keep it off and rely on Cell Highlights + Bracket alone.

Detection settings in detail

All detection settings live in Footprint Settings → Detection. Each is also covered in the Settings reference; the focus here is on what each setting changes about the zones you see.

Comparison method (Mode)

OptionWhat it compares
DiagonalBuys at price P versus sells at price P−1 (one tick lower). Standard definition.
HorizontalBuys versus sells at the same price P. Looser — more zones, more noise.

Diagonal is the default because it captures the way aggressive flow typically sequences through a price ladder: a wave of buyers at P must outpace the sellers who were sitting one tick below.

Ratio

How lopsided the dominant side must be. The number is a multiple.

  • 250% (default). The dominant side is at least 2.5× the other side.
  • 500%. At least 5× — only stronger imbalances count.
  • 1000%. Near-absolute dominance — very rare, very high confidence.

Start at the default. Tighten the ratio if you see zones appearing on every candle in a range market — that usually means the ratio is too loose for your instrument and timeframe.

Min Rows in Stack

Minimum number of consecutive imbalanced rows needed to form a zone.

  • 2 — catches smaller two-row pockets.
  • 3 (default) — filters single-tick accidents; good starting point.
  • 4 / 5 / 6 — only catches sustained runs. Suitable for instruments with high liquidity where even a 3-row stack is common.

Max Age

The number of bars to keep old zones visible.

  • All — every unfilled zone stays on screen regardless of age.
  • 50 / 100 / 200 bars — hides zones older than the cap on the active timeframe.

On a 1-minute chart, 50 bars ≈ 50 minutes. On a 15-minute chart, 100 bars ≈ 25 hours. Choose a cap that fits your trading horizon.

Reading stacked imbalances in practice

Zones show commitment, not certainty

A stacked buying zone tells you that at those prices, aggressive buyers dwarfed sellers for several consecutive rows. It does not guarantee price will rise — strong counter-flow or structural supply can override any footprint signal.

Use the zone as context inside your existing plan:

  1. Mark the level — top and bottom of the tinted stack.
  2. Ask what it means in context. Is this a stack with the trend, or against a major resistance? Did price close through the stack or reject?
  3. Watch for a retest. If price pulls back to a buying stack in an uptrend, that is a level worth watching for a low-risk re-entry — still requires execution rules (stop below the zone, target mapped).

Bearish stack (selling)

Red-tinted cells + [ bracket on the left edge of a candle.

  • In a downtrend. Continuation pressure from sellers. Useful for short entries on a retrace back to the zone, with a stop above the zone high.
  • Into a support level. Sellers are pressuring support. Watch whether the next bar breaks below or if buyers absorb the flow.

Bullish stack (buying)

Green-tinted cells + ] bracket on the right edge.

  • In an uptrend. Buyers pushed hard at these levels. A return to this zone (if it holds) is often watched for re-entry.
  • After a flush-low. A bullish stack that forms on a spike low and then closes back up may indicate absorption of selling — combine with an Absorption (ABS) signal and higher-timeframe confluence.

Gap between zone top and close

A buying stack that forms well below the candle's close but doesn't reach it suggests the aggressive buying happened in the lower half of the bar — sometimes early positioning, sometimes spread capturing. Read alongside where the POC sits.

Multiple stacks in one candle

When a candle shows both a buying stack near the low and a selling stack near the high, it's a two-sided auction: buyers were active at the low, sellers responded at the high. This is often a range / balance bar — treat it as noise until one side breaks away on the next bars.

Common mistakes

MistakeBetter approach
Acting on every stack regardless of context.Require a structural reason (key level, trend alignment) before using a stack as an entry signal.
Confusing stack count with strength.A 6-row stack in thin conditions can be weaker than a 3-row stack in a liquid, fast move.
Ignoring tick size.Changing tick size changes which rows aggregate together — re-check ratio calibration after any tick change.
Overloading with layers.Start with Cell Highlights only. Add Bracket. Add Retest Ray only after you're comfortable with the base layer.

Checklist: first setup

  1. Open Footprint Settings → Detection.
  2. Toggle Stacked Imbalances on.
  3. Leave Mode = Diagonal, Ratio = Default (250%), Min Rows = 3.
  4. Go to Display tab — confirm Cell Highlights and Stack Bracket are on; Retest Ray is off.
  5. Scroll back through 50–100 bars and observe where zones appeared.
  6. If every candle is covered in tints, raise the Ratio to Standard (300%) or Strict (500%).
  7. If you see almost no zones, lower the Min Rows to 2 or the Ratio toward 250%.

Calibrate to your instrument and timeframe before drawing conclusions.

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