[RobinHood]

I've noticed this a few times already...

on DOM you'll have the offer/ or the bid being incrementally increased at a constant and stable pace. It is way to fast to be a human. But its not filling up in chunks of 10,20,50 or 500 but just 1 lot. A few moments later on the tape I see a pattern showing up with small 1 and 2 lots. What doesn't make sense is that it can't be a human and yet its in such small sizes that I don't see why a bot or anyone would even bother.


Here is the screenshot:

[brownsfan019]

Could simply be iceberg orders being implemented.

Iceberg Order

This is a large single order that has been divided into smaller lots, usually by the use of an automated program, for the purpose of hiding the actual order quantity.When large participants, such as institutional investors, need to buy and sell large amounts of securities for their portfolios, they can divide their large orders into smaller parts so that the public sees only a small portion of the order at a time—just as the ‘tip of the iceberg’ is the only visible portion of a huge mass of ice. By hiding its large size, the iceberg order reduces the price movements caused by substantial changes in a stock’s supply and demand.

[Jleon]

The T/S and DOM is a crazy place that is for sure. To be able to see Iceberg and other institutional orders is a big help with any trading method.

I have created Software that works with Ninja Trader and plots these orders on a chart in real time. I have been a trader for 11 years and have always looked at the order flow on the DOM and T/S but a lot of orders have become way to fast for the human eye or are hidden in tiny lots. I have examples and screen shots to help explain. This will help anyone that is trying to understand the market by tape reading.

Have a great day!