Order Flow Heatmap for Bookmap | Liquidity & Absorption
A heatmap shows where displayed liquidity is concentrated and how it changes. Order-flow context asks the next question: what actually happens when price reaches that liquidity?
Resting liquidity versus executed volume
The heatmap is primarily a view of resting limit orders in the order book. Executed market orders are different evidence. Keeping those concepts separate prevents a common mistake: treating a bright liquidity band as if it were already traded volume.
The useful analysis begins when displayed liquidity, transactions, and price response are compared at the same location.
Four behaviors worth tracking
- Holding: liquidity remains visible as price approaches and interacts with it.
- Pulling: displayed size reduces or disappears before meaningful interaction.
- Refilling: liquidity repeatedly reappears while transactions occur near the level.
- Consumption: aggressive flow trades through the displayed interest and price begins to accept beyond it.
Absorption and failed aggression
Absorption becomes interesting when substantial aggressive buying or selling trades but price makes limited progress. That mismatch can suggest passive interest is absorbing the aggression, especially when the location and subsequent reaction support the interpretation.
Breakout, rejection, or trap
A penetration is not automatically a breakout. Look for acceptance beyond the level, continued execution, and supportive liquidity behavior. If follow-through fails and price quickly reclaims the level while aggressive participants are left poorly positioned, the structure may instead behave like a rejection or trap.
Use invalidation
Order-flow analysis remains probabilistic. Define what evidence would make the reading wrong, and avoid turning any single heatmap color, delta reading, or liquidity wall into a certainty.