I'm not sure if this is the correct forum, but oh well... I am a new trader and trade Nasdaq equities only and use the level 2 box almost exclusively. No charts, indicators, etc (except to see if a stock has a nice daily trend) I look to buy/sell pullbacks. Let's say a stock is trending up and just ripped, and is now pulling back. I see the offers start to step down and the bids fall away. Eventually it will slow it's decline and the aggressive selling will slow. At this point a few different things might happen: 1. It pauses briefly, then people start smashing the bid and the selling continues. 2. The bid will slowly move up and narrow the spread, and the offer will start to be taken (and I will hopefully have been the last person to get filled on the bid) 3. The stock trades sideways for a time. ------ Usually when I make a bad trade, it's because I misinterpret #1 as #2. Other people that trade a similar strategy: How does the box look different when a stock is pulling back vs. reversing? What makes you cautious? What makes you think it's the bottom and makes you put in bids/take the offer? What else do you look at when evaluating the situation?
So you figured out the stock can move up, down , or sideways after you enter. That's more than 99% have divined.