Lesson 5 of 5 · 2 min
Mistakes & limits
Why footprints mislead traders who read them in isolation.
Mistakes
- Reading every bar. Most footprint activity is noise. Context and location come first.
- Treating delta as direction. Positive delta doesn't mean price must go up.
- Chasing imbalances wherever they appear, without a planned level.
- Comparing numbers across platforms with different classification and aggregation.
- Ignoring the size of the market — normal numbers on ES look huge on a micro.
Limitations
- Aggressor classification is inferred and imperfect.
- Footprints don't show cancelled orders or hidden size directly.
- Large participants often trade passively, so their activity barely appears as aggression.
Key Insight
The footprint is a magnifying glass. It's excellent once you know where to look and misleading if you use it to decide where to look.
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