NVDA's median absolute 1-min move at 09:30-09:45 ET is 9.8 bp. Lunch window is 3.2 bp. Sterling Trader Pro's hotkey workflow compresses entry latency from 8-12s to 1-2s — material edge in the windows where decisions need to land fast.

Reading Level 2 isn't about staring at displayed size — it's about testing whether displayed size is real. Refresh behavior, queue stability, asymmetric clearing, and false depth tell the prop trader far more than the headline numbers. Same screen, completely different read.

Liquidity packets — bursts of participation that reveal accumulation or exhaustion before the candle confirms. CVD slope, refresh behavior at price levels, and trade-size distribution separate accumulation packets from exhaustion packets. The chart looks similar; the order flow doesn't.