The Simplest Volume Profile Intraday Strategy for Beginners

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Video Transcript:

Hey everyone. In this video, I’ll show you the simplest Volume Profile strategy. Something that’s beginner-friendly, straightforward, and actually usable right away. I’ll show you how to find key levels using Volume Profile, when to enter the trade, where to place your stop-loss and take-profit, the results that you can expect, how to improve them, common mistakes, and more. So, let’s get to it.

Now, since this strategy relies heavily on Volume Profile, let me briefly explain what Volume Profile is for those of you who don’t know. Volume Profile is an indicator that shows where trading activity happened. It looks like a histogram. The most important place in any Volume Profile is the Point of Control. That’s where the profile is the widest and where the most volume was traded. The key thing to remember is that heavy volumes represent significant support and resistance zones, especially the Point of Control.

At this point, I’d like to show you how to set up Volume Profile. Most of you are probably using TradingView, so let’s take a look there. Here is the TradingView platform. I’ve already loaded the Volume Profile. To add it, click on indicators and search for Session Volume HD. Add it to the chart, and by default it will look like this. Then go to settings. First, in the inputs section, select “extend Point of Control to the right.” This will extend the POC line until it gets tested. Second, in the style section, make sure the Point of Control is visible. That’s the black line showing where the highest volume occurred during the day. The rest can stay as default.

Now, let’s get to the strategy.

First, I’ll show you the long trade entry, then the short.

For a long trade, step one is to wait until the daily profile is fully formed. That means waiting until the day is over so you can see the full volume distribution. Next, price needs to move away from the Point of Control. Then you wait for a pullback back to the POC. When the price hits the POC from above, you enter a long. Only trade the first test. If price returns again later, you skip it.

The short trade is the same, just reversed. Wait for the daily profile to form, then price moves away from the POC. After that, wait for a pullback. When price hits the POC from below, you enter a short. Again, only the first test.

Now let’s talk about stop-loss and take-profit.

When you start, keep it simple. Use a fixed take-profit and stop-loss. I recommend 10–20% of the average daily volatility. For example, EUR/USD currently has around 80 pips daily range, so your TP and SL should be between 8–16 pips. A good middle value is 12 pips for both. That gives you a 1:1 risk-reward ratio. Start with that. If it works, you can later increase the reward.

Now, why does this strategy work?

There are two main reasons.

First, buyers defend their positions. The POC represents an area where buyers were active. When price returns there, those buyers don’t want to lose money, so they defend their positions and push price higher.

Second, sellers exit their trades. If someone sold earlier and price returns to a strong support, they close their position. To exit a short, they buy, which adds more buying pressure.

So both buyers and sellers are pushing price in the same direction at that level.

Now let me show you some examples.

Here’s a daily profile with a POC. Price moves away, pulls back, and you enter short. Next day, same thing. Another short. Sometimes the reaction is small, sometimes larger. Occasionally, the trade fails.

When that happens, there’s an important trick.

If price breaks through the POC without reaction, it means strong buyers are present. Instead of fighting them, you join them. Wait for a pullback and enter a long at the same level. This is what I call a reversal trade.

As you can see, the market repeatedly reacts to these levels.

Now, let’s talk about results.

This strategy is profitable in the long run, but not consistent in the short term. You will have losing streaks. That’s normal. Simple strategies always behave like this. You need to accept that.

To improve results, you can use confluences. Combine Volume Profile with VWAP, price action, order flow, or FVGs. The more factors align at one level, the stronger the setup.

You can also fine-tune the strategy using a trading journal. Track which instruments, days, and conditions perform best. Focus only on what works.

Now, a few common mistakes.

First, trading too many instruments. Focus on one to three markets and master them.

Second, inconsistent risk. Always risk the same percentage per trade, for example 2%.

Third, trading during high-impact news. Avoid it. Check Forex Factory, and stay out during major news releases. It’s unpredictable and risky.

If you want to learn more about Volume Profile trading and trade alongside me daily, visit trader-dale.com and check out the Volume Profile pack.

Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one.