Trading Evolution
Free Course

Free order flow course

Six lessons on how orders become prices: the orders you can send, the quotes you trade against, what execution really costs, the volume-weighted averages that institutions use, and the limits of what order flow data shows.

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Order Flow and Market Microstructure

Order flow analysis studies the orders and trades behind each price move. Before reading footprints or a depth of market, you need the mechanics: how a market order meets a limit order, why the spread is a cost, how a large order moves the price, and which numbers are measured rather than guessed.

Order book examples use prices with a quarter-point step, like Nasdaq-100 futures, and the VWAP diagrams use a simplified price scale; all are labelled as hypothetical. The free TEVO tools for NinjaTrader 8 linked from the lessons apply these ideas on a live chart.

Order Flow Foundations

Six lessons: order types, bid, ask and spread, slippage, VWAP, anchored VWAP, and what order flow data can and cannot show.

Module 1 · Orders and execution

Order Flow and Market Microstructure · Lesson 1 of 5 · Beginner · 9 min readOrder Types Explained: Market, Limit, Stop and Stop-Limit OrdersChoose the right order type for each situation and know what happens to it in the order book.Read →Order Flow and Market Microstructure · Lesson 2 of 5 · Beginner · 8 min readBid, Ask and Spread: How Prices Are Quoted and What They CostRead the best bid and ask, calculate the cost of crossing the spread and recognise when it widens.Read →Order Flow and Market Microstructure · Lesson 3 of 5 · Intermediate · 9 min readSlippage in Trading: What It Is and How to Measure ItCalculate the slippage of an order from its fills and include realistic slippage in your results.Read →

Module 2 · Reading volume and its limits

Order Flow and Market Microstructure · Lesson 4 of 5 · Intermediate · 9 min readVWAP Explained: Formula, Calculation and How Traders Use ItCalculate VWAP by hand, explain why institutions use it and read it without overinterpreting it.Read →Order Flow and Market Microstructure · Lesson 5 of 5 · Intermediate · 8 min readAnchored VWAP: How to Choose the Anchor and Read ItAnchor a VWAP to a meaningful event and use it to measure the average position of traders since then.Read →

Free order flow tools for NinjaTrader 8

  • Order flow: the guideFootprint, cumulative delta, volume profile and the order book: the concepts and the free tools for NinjaTrader 8.
  • TEVO DOMTEVO DOM, a free Level 2 depth of market for NinjaTrader 8: price ladder, depth, size changes, Time & Sales and confirmed order entry in its own window.
  • TEVO FootprintTEVO Footprint, a free footprint indicator for NinjaTrader 8: bid × ask volume per price, diagonal and stacked imbalances, bar POC and a delta table.
  • TEVO Cumulative DeltaTEVO Cumulative Delta, a free CVD indicator for NinjaTrader 8: cumulative delta as a line or candles, session resets, zoom and a recent bars table.
  • TEVO VWAPTEVO VWAP, a free NinjaTrader 8 indicator: session, weekly, monthly or anchored VWAP with 3 volume-weighted standard deviation bands and alerts.
  • TEVO Big TradesTEVO Big Trades, a free NinjaTrader 8 indicator: large executed trades as bubbles sized by volume, at the bid or at the ask, at their price and time.

Frequently asked questions

Is this order flow course free?

Yes. All lessons are public, with no sign-up, and the TEVO order flow indicators for NinjaTrader 8 linked from them are free.

Do I need Level 2 data to follow the course?

No. The lessons explain the concepts with diagrams. To practise on live charts, depth of market and tick data from your data provider are needed, and they can be paid depending on the exchange.

Does order flow predict where price will go?

No. It describes who traded and where, which helps to judge a level you already care about. It does not forecast direction on its own.

Written with the help of AI tools, then checked against the sources listed and our methodology. Report an error and we will correct it. Methodology · Editorial policy · Report an error

Educational content. These indicators are not investment advice and guarantee no result. Futures trading involves a risk of loss that can exceed the initial investment. Terms of use · Disclaimers