Variable Heat Map (VHM) Indicator Explained

The Variable Heat Map (VHM) scores price areas by how much action they've hosted — where the market keeps returning, stalling, and fighting. Structure tools tell you where the levels are; VHM tells you which ones are hot: contested ground whose breaks actually mean something.

How It Works

• Recent activity is binned by price area and decayed over time.
• High heat: heavily traded, contested zones. Cold: price passed through without interest.
• Heat updates continuously as the market revisits or abandons areas.

How to Trade It

Grade your levels: a Support/Resistance zone with high heat is defended real estate — breaks through it carry information, and bounces off it have sponsorship. Entries in cold space deserve smaller conviction; there's nothing there to react to.

Building It in Setup.Cash

Add Variable Heat Map (VHM) in the strategy builder — the length input controls its sensitivity — and use its value in any entry, exit, or filter condition. You can also combine it with other tools in the Indicators Lab or via the AI indicator generator. Pairs with Pivot Points to separate projected levels from proven ones. For the full category overview, see the market structure tools guide.

Structure tools define context; your entry logic supplies timing. Backtest both halves together before going live.