Depth of Market (DOM) / Price Ladder

The DOM displays the order book as a vertical price ladder, with bids on the left and offers on the right. Use it to watch liquidity shift around the current price and place trades directly into the book.

Already familiar with the DOM? How to read the DOM

DOM Overview

This screenshot gives a quick reference for the layout before you interact with the replay below.

Screenshot of the Depth of Market showing bid and ask limits, recent trades, and volume histogram for CL crude oil

Here we have Crude oil (CL) continuous contract (.v.0). Price on the far left, then blue bid column, market sells, market buys, ask limits, and total volume.

What the DOM Helps With

See where resting liquidity is concentrated above and below price.
Watch how limit orders stack and pull as price approaches a level.
Place trades directly from the ladder.
Track traded volume at each price via the histogram.

Order Mechanics

Limit Orders

Click a bid limit to join the queue. If the bid shows 5 and you join, it becomes 6 - five contracts must trade before you fill.
Clicking an empty bid/offer box places a limit at that price. If there's standing liquidity on the other side, it behaves like a marketable limit and can fill immediately.
As limits trade, resting size decreases and your queue position advances.

Market Orders

Buy Market lifts the best offer - you'll see an aggressor buy print and the sell limit at that level decrease.
The price level is outlined in blue when you're long and red when you're short.
Sell Market hits the best bid to exit or go short; the bid limit at that level decreases.

Trades & P&L

P&L updates immediately on entry. Example: –12.02 = –2.02 commissions + –10.00 if you closed into the next tick down.
Session P&L includes fees: opening and closing trades cost a specific commission per side.
The right-side volume histogram aggregates traded volume by price; use it to see where buying/selling concentrated.

Controls / Settings

Clear trades - Remove recent trade markers while preserving volume histogram
Center DOM - Automatically center the ladder around the last traded price

Try the DOM

Interact with the price ladder - scroll by dragging, place orders by clicking bid or offer levels.

Try this:
Click a bid level to place a limit order
Try pressing a limit on the empty bid - it will fill immediately
Open settings and toggle Stack/Pull columns to watch order flow

Tip:
Drag the ladder up or down to scroll through price levels

Docs