01 · WHAT A PRINT IS
An execution reported to the tape.
Volwick shows the price it executed at, the size filled and its notional.
DARK POOL · LIVE ON THE PRICE ACTION
For years, this data was seen only by institutions. Now it’s on your chart.
See off-exchange activity right on the price action. Volwick brings large Dark Pool prints onto the chart and shows you where they happened, how big they were and their notional. Price shows the move. Volwick reveals the activity that built up behind that move.
SPYDARK POOL · SIMULATED DATA
TAPE
- 10:36:0060K @ 772.79 · $46.4M
- 10:28:45160K @ 772.56 · $123.6M
- 10:22:11460K @ 772.35 · $355.3M
- 10:18:16260K @ 772.35 · $200.8M
Three prints at the same price on the way down. The level forms there, and price bounces from that area.
- Live prints
- 9
- Notional
- $997.4M
- Largest print
- 460K
- Level
- 772.35
above threshold, on the chart
summed across prints
SPY shares in a single print
built from 3 prints at the same price
Demo examples on SPY · simulated data · the numbers follow the chart
DEFINITION
Not an indicator. An execution that already happened.
A dark pool is an off-exchange trading venue where orders are not displayed in advance on the public order book. Once a trade is executed, the transaction is reported to the consolidated tape.
Volwick detects these executions in SPY and plots them right on the price action, showing price, size and notional at the point where they happened.
Not a forecast. Not a resting order. An execution actually reported to the market.
02 · WHAT A BLOCK TRADE IS
An execution that exceeds a set size threshold.
Volwick filters the most relevant trades to separate them from normal market flow.
03 · WHAT A LEVEL IS
A concentration of executions at the same price or in the same area.
Volwick keeps that concentration visible on the chart, so you can watch how the market behaves when it comes back to those prices.
THE TAPE YOU DON’T SEE
The candle shows the move. Dark Pool shows the activity behind the price.
The chart shows where the market ended up. Volwick adds what the candle doesn’t contain: off-exchange executions reported to the tape, with price, size and notional.
Every print is plotted right on the price action. When several executions cluster in the same area, Volwick keeps track of them and turns that concentration into a level you can watch over time.
101/3,851
levels held across 3,851 observed passes.
Volwick filters the detected activity and keeps on the chart the concentrations that meet the system’s criteria.
01 · PRINT
A single off-exchange execution.
Reported to the tape and plotted on the price action at the point where it happened, with price, size and notional.
02 · CLUSTER
Several executions. Same area.
A tight sequence of prints detected on the tape. Volwick shows their size and concentration, making it instantly visible when activity picks up in the same price area.
03 · LEVEL
The concentration stays on the chart.
When executions keep clustering in the same area, Volwick keeps their trace visible over time. It doesn’t interpret intent: it shows the concentration.
THRESHOLDS BY INSTRUMENT
Every market has its own size. Volwick highlights the size that matters.
The size of an execution doesn’t mean the same thing in every market. That’s why Volwick applies Block and Mega thresholds specific to each instrument, separating large executions from the normal flow of the tape.
Select a market to see the Block threshold, the Mega threshold and the matching notional.
- Instrument
- SPDR S&P 500 ETF
- Block threshold
- 5,000 shares
- Mega threshold
- 50,000 shares
- Minimum Block notional
- $3.9M
- Minimum Mega notional
- $38.6M
- Level
- 3+ blocks
×10 the Block
5,000 × 772.35
memory ~10 days
- Instrument
- Invesco QQQ Trust
- Block threshold
- 5,000 shares
- Mega threshold
- 50,000 shares
- Minimum Block notional
- $3.3M
- Minimum Mega notional
- $33.1M
- Level
- 3+ blocks
×10 the Block
5,000 × 661.57
memory ~10 days
SAME SESSION. TWO CHARTS.
Same move. A completely different amount of information.
What happened. Price action gives you the final move.
Where the size went through. Dark Pool executions are overlaid on the session at the exact point where they were reported, making size, clusters and levels instantly visible.
ANATOMY OF A PRINT
Five pieces of information. One glance.
Every event reaches the chart ready to read. No tables or scanners to open: you look at the chart and know what kind of print it is, where it went through and how much it weighs.
- AmberQuiet accumulation. White is a burst
- 773.30The price where the size went through
- 1.36M ×20Total shares across 20 prints
- $1.05BNotional: size × price
- LevelToday’s memory or the last 10 days
HOW TO USE IT
Three controls. A read built around size.
Filter the executions, set the minimum size and choose which levels to keep on the chart. The same controls as the Volwick terminal, right on the price action.
- Visible prints
- 14
- Notional
- $751M
- FLOW All: every off-exchange execution above 5,000 shares, with a circle sized to the print.
- FLOW Mega: only prints above 50,000 shares, the ones that really change the picture.
- FLOW Off: the prints disappear, the levels stay. It’s the cleanest view.
- LEVELS Today: the levels built in today’s session. The strongest is gold, with two stars.
- LEVELS All: about ten days of memory. Levels from previous sessions are silver.
- LEVELS Off: no levels on the chart.
FLOW · WHAT I SEE
Choose how much activity you want to see.
All shows every execution above the threshold you set. Mega isolates only the largest sizes, leaving the most relevant prints on the chart.
THRESHOLD · HOW BIG
Decide where relevant size starts.
Set the minimum execution size shown on the chart. Raising the threshold gradually strips out the smaller flow and keeps only the larger sizes.
LEVELS · WHAT I KEEP
Keep track of the clusters.
Today shows the levels built in the current session. All also keeps those from previous sessions, so you can find the areas where activity has already clustered.
FROM PRINT TO LEVEL
A print is an event. Several sources at the same price make a level.
Dark Pool on its own is already information retail traders don’t have. In Volwick you compare it with liquidity, Dealer Walls and flow on the same chart, and see when several independent sources converge on the same price. A print is an event; three blocks in the same area are a level.
- DARK POOL PRINT773.30 · 271K
- PRICE LEVEL773.30
- LIQUIDITYLEVEL 773.30 · 1.36M ×20
- DEALER POSITIONINGCALL WALL 774.00 · +$15.3M
- FLOW CONFIRMATION / DIVERGENCEPRICE ↑ · CVD ↓
HOW TO READ IT
A level is only the beginning. The market’s reaction completes the read.
A level isn’t a signal: price behavior is what gives it meaning. A Dark Pool level marks an area where significant activity has clustered. When the market comes back to that price, Volwick lets you read how it reacts and compare that reaction with the terminal’s other layers.
WHAT IT DOES FOR YOU
Not to predict the market. To read better what it’s doing.
01 · CONTEXT
Give prices a different weight.
Not every level on the chart has the same history. Dark Pool clusters add a reference based on executions that actually happened, not on a line drawn after the fact.
02 · REACTION
Watch what happens when price comes back.
Hold, absorption or break: when the market returns to a Dark Pool area you can read the reaction against the activity that already went through at that price.
03 · CONFIRMATION
Cross-check independent sources.
Line up Dark Pool with Dealer Walls, CVD, CDI and Flow. When several layers highlight the same area, you have more context to interpret what’s happening.
04 · TRACKING
Keep your levels through the session.
Relevant clusters stay on the price action, so you can keep monitoring them as the market evolves without rebuilding the context every time.
TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
What you want to know.
Where do the prints I see on Volwick come from?
From off-exchange executions in SPY and QQQ reported to the consolidated tape, received through licensed consolidated market data distribution. Every print arrives with price, size and report time, and Volwick places it on the chart in the minute it’s reported.
Does a Dark Pool print tell me whether someone bought or sold?
No. An off-exchange execution doesn’t reveal who was the aggressor: it tells you where, how much and when the size went through. That’s why Volwick shows it as a fact on the price, not as a directional signal. Direction remains your read, together with the rest of the chart.
Why does the print sometimes show up after the move?
Because a dark pool only makes the execution public after it has been executed: the print hits the tape after the fill, not before. Volwick doesn’t anticipate anything: it shows you the execution as soon as it’s reported and keeps it on the chart, so you can see how price reacts when it comes back.
What’s the difference between a print and a level?
A print is a single event. A level forms when at least three executions above the threshold cluster in the same price area. The terminal draws the ten heaviest levels and keeps them for the session or for about ten days, depending on LEVELS.
Does a Dark Pool level always hold?
No, and Volwick doesn’t present it that way. A level shows where size has already gone through, not where price will stop. It can hold, get absorbed or break: the value lies in seeing how the market behaves when it comes back to that area.
How do I choose the right threshold?
Start from the terminal’s default: 5,000 shares on SPY and QQQ for a Block, 50,000 for a Mega. Raising it strips out smaller flow and leaves only the largest sizes; lowering it shows more activity. The threshold is saved for each instrument.
Can I use it together with the other layers?
Yes, that’s what it’s built for. The strongest reads come when two independent sources point to the same price, for example a Dark Pool level that lines up with a dealer wall. On its own it’s one more piece of information about price, not a decision already made.