Order Blocks: How to Read the Play of Big Fish in the Market

Have you ever looked at the chart after a strong move and thought, “where were the buyers/sellers?” Order Blocks are exactly that: the footprints left by institutions when they trade.

The move of the big fish

Imagine you are a fund with 500 million dollars. You can't just go in and out without the market noticing. So, what do they do? They group their orders into strategic blocks. Why?

• Efficiency: A giant order instead of a thousand small ones
• Camouflage: It is more difficult to detect their intentions
• Best price: Less market impact, better execution

How to identify an Order Block

It is simpler than it seems:

1. Look for the last bearish candle before a bullish impulse
2. Confirm: The high of that candle must be exceeded by the next bullish candle.
3. Ready: That is your Order Block

The same works in reverse: last bullish candle before a drop = bearish Order Block.

Where to search ( and when )

Forget the 5-minute charts. Use:

• H4 (4 hours) for medium-term operations
• D1 (diarios) for swing trading
• W1 (weekly) for main trends

The longer the time frame, the more reliable the signal.

The winning combo: Order Blocks + Volume Profile

Order Blocks are visual, but adding the Volume Profile indicator shows you exactly where there was institutional activity. You will see volume spikes at certain price levels = those are the areas where the big fish fed.

Entering the operation

Once you identify the Order Block, observe the price action:

• Does the price bounce up strongly? ✅ Buy out signal
• Bullish consolidation near the block? ✅ It is also valid
• Weak paint? ❌ Wait for another setup

Protecting profits

Stop Loss: Place it just below the Order Block. If you get liquidated here, it means that the setup did not work.

Take Profit: Look for previous resistances or consolidation areas where the price has historically struggled.

The key point

Institutions move the market. If you understand where they operate and how they move, you are playing with information that 90% of traders do not see. It’s not magic, it’s simply reading the footprints they leave.