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Strategy lab · 7 min read

VWAP needs a session and real volume.

Read a reclaim as a price event relative to a defined volume-weighted reference. Be explicit about the reset and volume feed.

One question to answerWhat exactly is your VWAP measuring?

The lesson on YouTube

Watch. Then work through the idea.

Watch the English lesson first, then use the worked example and quiz below to check the idea. The article is a companion, not a transcript.

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What is actually happening?

A trade-based VWAP divides cumulative price-times-traded-volume by cumulative traded volume over a defined interval. Some chart platforms approximate it from bar prices and volumes. Different feeds or resets can produce different values.

Keep the boundary clear. A chart observation does not reveal a participant’s identity, intention or future orders.

Guided example · Synthetic trade quantities and later declared snapshots

Volume changes the reference

Compute trade-based VWAP first, then distinguish a reclaim from a completed retest.

Restart & example assumptions

Authored synthetic observations, shown in sequence. Every comparison uses only the revealed data. This is a worked learning example, not live prices, broker execution or a profitability backtest. Follow the article’s exact definitions; measurements and pattern names alone do not authorize a trade.

For charts: tap a candle or swing to inspect it; drag horizontally to browse; wheel or +/− to zoom; arrow keys to inspect; Home to restore the step view.

Make the conditions explicit.

01 / CONTEXT

Use a declared session reset and a volume source suitable for the instrument. Broker tick activity in spot FX is not consolidated exchange-traded volume.

02 / TRIGGER

Illustrative rule: after completed closes below the session VWAP, require a completed close above it and a later hold above the reference under a pre-defined retest rule.

03 / CANCEL OR INVALIDATE

Cancel if price closes back below before entry, if your session resets, or if the selected feed is missing usable volume.

The quoted rules are illustrative research specifications. Parameters are not recommendations and have not been presented as profitable backtest results.

What can this cost?

The reference moves as new trades arrive. Freeze the value used to evaluate each completed signal; do not grade old entries against the session’s final VWAP.

Calculate the size from your assumptions

How the idea can fail.

In balanced trading, price may cross VWAP repeatedly. A reclaim alone cannot establish a durable directional regime.

Practical habit

Write the session reset and volume feed in your journal. “Above VWAP” is incomplete without them.

Go one level deeper

Compare a bar-price approximation with available trade-based data before assuming cross-platform signals are identical.

Check your understanding

Is broker tick volume automatically consolidated traded volume?

Choose one answer

Further reading & boundaries

These examples are original educational exercises. General background: CME Group: position sizing; Fidelity: technical analysis. Neither endorses these example rules. No hypothetical result establishes future profitability.

Editorial revision: 13 October 2026 · Synthetic data · Educational use

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