Point of Control (POC)
Overview
The Point of Control is the single price level at which the most volume was traded during a specified period. It represents the 'fair value' according to market participants and acts as a magnet — price tends to gravitate toward the POC. The naked POC (from a prior session that was never revisited) is one of the most reliable support/resistance levels in order flow trading.
Key Concepts
Highest volume price in a volume profile, Session POC vs. composite POC vs. developing POC, Naked POC: a POC from a previous period that price has not yet revisited, POC migration during a session shows trend direction, Virgin POC: untouched by subsequent sessions
Entry Signals
Price approaching a naked POC = potential reaction/bounce, POC migration direction aligns with trade direction, Multiple sessions' POCs clustering at the same price = strong support/resistance, Entry at POC with footprint/delta confirmation
Exit Signals
For POC bounce trades: enter at POC with stop beyond POC cluster + buffer, target the opposing value area extreme. For POC break trades: enter on retest of broken POC, target next POC/value area.
Best Timeframes
30M session profile, Daily for composite, multi-session for naked POC identification
Pro Tips
Track naked POCs on your chart — when price finally reaches them (sometimes days or weeks later), the reaction is often significant. Naked POCs represent unfinished business.
More Topics in This Category
Footprint Charts
Footprint charts display the actual volume traded at each price level within a candle, broken down by aggressive buyers (market orders hitting the ask) and aggressive sellers (market orders hitting the bid). This granular view reveals exactly where buying and selling pressure occurs, exposing absorption, exhaustion, and imbalance patterns invisible on standard charts.
Absorption & Exhaustion
Absorption occurs when large limit orders absorb aggressive market orders without allowing price to move. For example, price hits a level where heavy sell market orders are absorbed by even larger buy limit orders — the aggression is neutralised. Exhaustion is when aggressive buying/selling loses momentum, visible through declining delta and volume at price extremes.
Market Profile
Market Profile organises price data into 30-minute periods called TPOs (Time Price Opportunities), creating a bell-curve distribution that reveals market behaviour patterns. Developed by J. Peter Steidlmayer at the CBOT, Market Profile identifies day types (Normal, Trend, Double Distribution, etc.) and provides a statistical framework for understanding auction market theory.
Order Book & Liquidity Analysis
Order book and liquidity analysis examines the distribution and behaviour of resting orders across all price levels to map where significant liquidity pools exist. By aggregating order book data over time through heatmaps and liquidity visualisations, traders can identify where large players intend to transact, anticipate areas of support and resistance, and gauge market microstructure health.