This article is based on an interview with trader Matthias Arend. Edited by Owain Higham.

 

How did you discover Bookmap?

 

I discovered Bookmap in a different Discord channel involving crypto trading. The group was focused on traditional Technical Analysis supported by Market Profile and Footprint Charts to find intraday trades. 

 

I initially installed Bookmap and honestly did not grasp its full potential at all. I thought of it more like the visualization of a DOM (Depth of Market) or order book and was using it purely to determine buy and sell pressure during trade entries and exits. The reason why I was looking for “more” was that I felt the classic footprints charts to be quite abstract, hard to read and due to its aggregated data characteristics—not so precise.

 

What do you trade?

 

I made a conscious transition recently to trade the futures markets on an intraday basis, namely the ES for scalping and intraday trends. Bookmap supports my crypto trading largely for intraday swing moves.

 

Did you trade order flow before? 

 

As mentioned, I did trade order flow before and felt that the charts provided do capture the market data but are lacking the ability to display market microstructure which is absolutely essential to recognize subtle shifts in sentiment when scalping. 

 

Once back on Bookmap and equipped with the MBO Bundle I recognized the difference in quality of the data immediately. Together with an attractive commission structure it was a no-brainer to decide to completely narrow down the focus and give 100% of my attention to trading Futures with a traditional chart and Volume Profile to present the bigger picture and key levels and have Bookmap as the “scalpel” to work in the market.

 

What was your lightbulb moment?

 

The moment I realized just how strong of a tool Bookmap is for futures traders was when I experienced Bruce and Tom explaining microstructure in their daily live streams on Discord.

 

The non-aggregation of data opens up an entirely different view of the market not constrained by candlesticks. The trader can sense the tiniest shifts in momentum when focused on the chart.

 

The heatmap is also a great tool to support entries when monitoring the market around your key level as liquidity changes are instantly displayed in a natural way, easy and intuitively to grasp which is needed when having to make decisions in real time.

 

How do you use Bookmap?

 

My present setup is a three screen setup, one exclusively dedicated to Bookmap, the other to have a higher time frame chart up for my daily analysis, and a third smaller one for Bookmap Discord livestreams and trade journal entries, screenshots etc.

 

I use the MBO Bundle to show me when stop runs are occurring. I use the moving averages package to keep me in trending moves, and I of course use the heatmap to give me indications where reactions can be expected to manage the trade.

 

One of the features I enjoy the most is the ability to replay the session and monitor behaviour as well as evaluate trade management and perfecting your trading system. It is one of the most valuable tools to instil confidence in your trading system as you can practice your rules over and over again in real conditions. It is the equivalent of a commercial pilot doing simulator training to perfect the drills needed to operate the machine.

 

I consider Bookmap by far the most easy to understand tool for grasping market structure and order flow and the overall product offering in combination with forward looking daily streams is invaluable. There is no question about it. Any aspiring futures trader should not hesitate to consider this solution to advance his trading.