Module 3 · Core Metrics
Value Area, VAH & VAL
The ~70% zone where the market agreed on price — and how to trade its edges.
In this lesson you'll
- Define the Value Area and the ~70% / 1-σ logic
- Identify VAH and VAL on a profile
- Understand acceptance vs rejection at the edges
Its boundaries are the Value Area High (VAH) — the top of the value zone — and the Value Area Low (VAL) — the bottom. They are built outward from the POC: starting at the POC, you keep adding the adjacent level with the greater volume until ~70% of total volume is captured.
How traders use it
- POC acts as a magnet — price frequently revisits it.
- In balance, fade the edges: look to buy near VAL and sell near VAH, targeting the POC.
- Acceptance vs rejection: sustained trade above VAH or below VAL signals the market is leaving value and may trend; a quick rejection back inside signals range continuation.
- Multi-day context: sequentially higher value areas = uptrend; overlapping value areas = balance.
Key takeaways
- Value Area = ~70% of volume (≈ 1 standard deviation), bounded by VAH and VAL.
- It's built outward from the POC, adding the higher-volume neighbor until 70% is reached.
- Balanced markets: fade edges toward POC; trending: watch for acceptance beyond the edge.
- Use VA edges as the level and the footprint as the timing tool.
Check your understanding
Pick an answer to reveal instant feedback. Answer every question to complete the lesson.
Why that's off: 50% would be far narrower than the ~1σ value zone.
Why that's off: 100% is the entire range, not the value zone.
Why that's off: ~30% is what's excluded (the tails), not the Value Area itself.
The Value Area is defined as roughly 70% of volume, which approximates one standard deviation around the mean in a normal distribution — the 'core consensus' price zone.
Why that's off: Buying breakouts both ways in a range is a recipe for getting chopped up; that's a trend tactic.
Why that's off: The POC is the primary target/magnet in this tactic.
Why that's off: The session high is one extreme; the tactic uses both VA edges and the POC.
In balance, price tends to rotate within value, so traders fade the edges (buy VAL, sell VAH) and target the POC magnet. Acceptance beyond an edge is what would flip them to a trend stance.
Educational content only. Nothing here is financial or trading advice. Order-flow and options patterns shift probabilities; they never guarantee outcomes.