The order book: intentions, not promises
Reading a chart · OnlyTrade trading school
The ladder shows resting orders — what people SAY they will do at those prices. A wall is a level several times heavier than its neighbours, and price often slows at one. But a resting order can be cancelled in a millisecond, and large players know a visible wall attracts attention, which is why some of them exist to be seen rather than filled. Read the book for where the friction is right now, never as a forecast: it describes this second and can be a different book by the time you click.
About this lesson
Written by the OnlyTrade team as a general explanation of a market mechanic. It uses no live market data.
Education, not investment advice. No method or result is guaranteed, and trading can lose money. Read the Risk Disclosure.