What are P-shaped, B-shaped, and D-shaped profiles?

Profile shape is the session's verdict in one letter. A P-shape means buyers won: price moved up, then built value at the higher area and held it. A B-shape means sellers won: price moved down and value followed. A D-shape means neither side won: value sits fat in the middle of a balanced, rotating day. A fourth type, the thin profile, is one-sided domination with almost no value built along the way.

Shapes in a row say more than any single day. Consecutive P-shapes mean value keeps shifting higher, a real uptrend, because each new balance was accepted above the last. Consecutive B-shapes are the same story flipped. Stacked D-shapes mean the market keeps agreeing on fair price. That is an efficient market, and there is not as much money in efficient markets. The stack also builds energy: the longer it runs, the larger the eventual expansion.

Two filters keep shapes honest. When the shape says one thing and the close says another, the close wins. And when a formed shape fails at the level that should have held, the failure is information: a P-shape that attracts no buyers becomes fuel for the move down. Shape is a lean, not a command. It feeds the condition read. The zone and the trigger still have to do their jobs.

Sources: Volume profile beginner guide · Best volume profile strategy