order flow analysis

[⭐ aotegaoteg]

I have been backtesting nearly 10 years of historical data across different asset classes using Ninjatrader market replay data. What I'm about to describe may be controversial, but I have to say it: using order flow as a strategy does not work and provides no real edge.

I backtested the following order flow strategies using high-quality data:

• Footprint
• Absorption
• Imbalance
• Delta
• Delta divergence
• Cumulative Volume Delta 
• Volume Profile
• Iceberg
• Order block
• Market depth

I can conclude that 90% of these strategies produced no meaningful results. After digging deeper to confirm this, I discovered changes that occurred in 2017 to the real-time streaming trading data distributed by the CME.

In 2017, the CME significantly altered order flow data through the introduction of the Market by Order MBO data format, which is now used by most retail traders and trading platforms. This new format changed how trading data is streamed to platforms. It's well documented that these changes obstructed the visibility of traditional order flow data compared to pre-MBO feeds.

The current MBO format obscures aggregated orders at price levels and provides only snapshots of executed trades. This masks resting orders, making footprint analysis and similar techniques far more complicated.

So why do many traders still try using order flow strategies for day trading if they're largely useless?

As I noted earlier, 90% of these strategies produced no meaningful results. The only ones I found with some potential edge are those focused on imbalances between bids and asks. Additionally, analyzing delta and cumulative volume delta can help spot traps and divergences in buying versus selling pressure. Other strategies, like absorption and iceberg orders, are simply not visible in the streaming data.

Edited January 17 by aotegaoteg
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[⭐ laser1000it]

3 minutes ago, aotegaoteg said:

I have been backtesting nearly 10 years of historical data.....

Totally agree with what you wrote

[⭐ RichardGere]

Thank you for sharing with us your observations. 👍

[misalto]

Yes agreed it imbalances do work for nq (10tick agregation) as those are really thin markets and es (4 tick ag) all i check is imbalances ,stacked imbalances, nothing else as is proven to not work.. maybee for a hft program but im not gonna waste my energy following that nonsense that is out of my reach ,apply a heard mentalitty and dont scalp  1 or 2 ticks ,loooses will be bigger try holding to winners as much as you can thats the approach nothing else to do ....

[dmyy3k]

order flow analysis need quality tick data like those provide like tradovate.com ( you can try evaluation ) .

Normally good quality tick data does not come free.

 

[⭐ laser1000it]

17 minutes ago, dmyy3k said:

order flow analysis need quality tick data like those provide like tradovate.com ( you can try evaluation ) .

Normally good quality tick data does not come free.

 

You're wrong...a lot of people here use demo data...otherwise it's not clear why they bought the reset from a well known seller

Edited 16 hours ago by laser1000it

[LoneBladeRGC]

The markets aren't driven by Delta. Delta only tells us where do we enter. It is not a bias for our trades unfortunately. Usually too long too short of delta means absorption trades where stop orders/limits should be our entries while exhaustion trades are limit orders where usually a liquidity swing is taken. 

[misalto]

a moving average is full of limit orders  10 ema bounces all the time no volume at all 

[Stranger7]

If you know bias ,you know direction , according to bias you mark the zones in which you will enter orderflow strategy works.l,need to use like fractal 

[Ninja_On_The_Roof]

On 1/17/2026 at 4:55 AM, aotegaoteg said:

I have been backtesting nearly 10 years of historical data across different asset classes using Ninjatrader market replay data. What I'm about to describe may be controversial, but I have to say it: using order flow as a strategy does not work and provides no real edge.

I backtested the following order flow strategies using high-quality data:

• Footprint
• Absorption
• Imbalance
• Delta
• Delta divergence
• Cumulative Volume Delta 
• Volume Profile
• Iceberg
• Order block
• Market depth

I can conclude that 90% of these strategies produced no meaningful results. After digging deeper to confirm this, I discovered changes that occurred in 2017 to the real-time streaming trading data distributed by the CME.

In 2017, the CME significantly altered order flow data through the introduction of the Market by Order MBO data format, which is now used by most retail traders and trading platforms. This new format changed how trading data is streamed to platforms. It's well documented that these changes obstructed the visibility of traditional order flow data compared to pre-MBO feeds.

The current MBO format obscures aggregated orders at price levels and provides only snapshots of executed trades. This masks resting orders, making footprint analysis and similar techniques far more complicated.

So why do many traders still try using order flow strategies for day trading if they're largely useless?

As I noted earlier, 90% of these strategies produced no meaningful results. The only ones I found with some potential edge are those focused on imbalances between bids and asks. Additionally, analyzing delta and cumulative volume delta can help spot traps and divergences in buying versus selling pressure. Other strategies, like absorption and iceberg orders, are simply not visible in the streaming data.

I sure hope, in those 10 years long, you were still making money on the side while doing your testing and not wasting all these precious years down the drains, just to conclude 90% of them dont mean a darn thing in the end.

For the love of God, the FDA folks dont even take that many years to approve some medications we take.🫣

I envy your sheer dedication.

That is indeed, such a serious dedication

Regardless, I personally think it is a big waste of time to run all these analysis and studies unless, you plan on running your strats and bots 24/7 for long term.

We pretty much trade as scalpers. In and out quickly. Especially if we are using prop firms with intraday drawdown. Quickly in and out, take our quick profits one piece at a time is the way to sustain and to survive this rule.

So, it is really pointless, in my view to even worry about backtesting since you are just get in and get out within seconds or minutes.

But then again, that is just me. I dont intend to invent the wheels. I take whatever that is already working and working effectively then I stick to it. 

In the end though, as the old saying goes, whatever rocks your boat, go for it!🤗