XAUUSD 4,151Live gold map →

What is Big trade?

A large print on the tape. One real large order often prints as many small fills, so large prints and large orders are not the same thing.

In context

In our own testing, simple "big trade" detection from raw prints was unreliable: most of the prints it flagged were not genuinely large orders at all, precisely because real orders print as many small fills and unrelated small fills can look like one. Grouping prints improved the picture. But even correctly identified big trades were not, on their own, a signal that predicted direction after costs.

From Chapter 10: Liquidity, the Order Book and the Tape

Learn it in depth

Related terms

Tape (Time & Sales)

Every term in context, with real gold examples: the free 301-page eBook.
Get the free PDFRead the academy

Education only. Not financial advice. Trading involves substantial risk of loss.