Order Book
The live queue of resting buy and sell orders at each price — the market's visible supply and demand.
What it means
The order book lists every resting limit order: bids stacked below the price, asks stacked above. Trades happen where they meet. Its shape — how much size sits how close — is the visible part of supply and demand.
It is also a battlefield of intentions: orders can be placed to be seen rather than filled, and pulled the moment price approaches. Book signals work best combined with the tape, which cannot be faked as cheaply.
Why traders care
- Spread and depth determine your real execution cost before any indicator matters.
- Book imbalance often tilts a few seconds before the price follows.
In a TraderWe strategy
if TotalBidSize > TotalAskSize * 1.5 and Strength > 105:
Buy()Bid-heavy book confirmed by the tape — book alone is too easy to spoof.
Educational content, not investment advice. Engine details describe how TraderWe computes this value; other platforms may define it differently.