What are POC and VWAP?
Reveal the worked answer
100 and 100.60.
Largest bin versus weighted average.
Technical Analysis · TA-09 · Core
Point of control
Which price had the most activity, under which definition?
What you will learn and prerequisites
- Explain the mechanism in the lesson question.
- Reproduce the worked comparison and recognize its failure case.
Read first: Market structure comes first
Volume POC is the price bin with the greatest traded volume in a stated window. A time-price-opportunity POC measures something different. POC is not automatically support, resistance or a magnet.
Understand the mechanism
Specify instrument, venue, session, bin size and tie handling. POC is a mode, whereas VWAP is a weighted mean. They can differ, especially in a multimodal profile. Changing binning or the observation window can change the dominant price.
Walk through the process
Read current price relative to the profile and whether new acceptance is forming elsewhere. Use the actual data source's volume, not an assumption that one ETF or futures feed represents all linked markets. Do not carry an old POC forward as permanent value.
Pause before deciding
Describe what the example actually establishes and what remains unknown. A technical observation supplies context, not an automatic options entry. Contract cost, horizon, liquidity and the consequence of failure still need to match the thesis. Record the contrary branch so a named pattern cannot become an excuse to ignore new evidence.
A worked example
Bins 99,100,101,102 have volumes 100,400,300,200. POC is 100. VWAP is (99×100+100×400+101×300+102×200)/1,000=100.60. The chart is volume by price, not a chronological path.
Open the calculation without leaving this lesson
Point of control—worked comparison
Vertical: Volume units
Horizontal: Price bin (USD)
1. Fictional example
Read the graph as a data table
| Price bin (USD) | Fictional example |
|---|---|
| 99 | 100 |
| 100 | 400 |
| 101 | 300 |
| 102 | 200 |
What would invalidate the reading?
A move away can be genuine repricing rather than a deviation that must reverse. Bad aggregation or mismatched session windows can create false signals.
Check your understanding
Try the question before revealing its answer. These are reading checks, not trading certification or a site completion record.
What is the critical failure to avoid?
Reveal the worked answer
A move away can be genuine repricing rather than a deviation that must reverse. Bad aggregation or mismatched session windows can create false signals.
Explain this risk before treating the example as a decision rule. A correct calculation does not guarantee a favorable market outcome.
Return to the question: Which price had the most activity, under which definition? State the observed facts, the assumptions and the failure condition separately.
Sources, assumptions and downloadable script
External references support definitions and conventions. Worked scenarios and prose are original. No current quotes or dealer inventory are claimed.
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