[ptcman]

Very interesting messages guys, thanks.

When we look at an up tick aren't we looking at a trade(s) that hit the ask, and when we look at a down tick aren't we looking at a trade(s) that hit the bid? Naturally that we don't know the volume produce at each price, but can't we use a tick counter to have an idea of the movement made on those prices?

I rarely used, if ever, limit orders

[SunTrader]

An uptick is a tick that is higher than the previous tick (or the same as the previous tick). A downtick is a tick that is lower than the previous tick (or the same as the previous tick).

[fadenscales]

I think what you are looking for is Volume Delta and nothing to do with ticks. The idea behind looking the volume delta is to get an idea of how strong an up or down tick might be, or likewise to find divergence where we see price rising but number of contracts traded within that price bar is negative. This is very simplistic, but I believe it is what you're looking for. Have you had a look at Market Delta, as it has these charts already available. In terms of data feed you should look for a higher quality one like DTN.IQ, which is unfiltered and non-aggregated.

Tom