The σ readout

Raw flow in contracts is not comparable across symbols, sessions, or volatility regimes. The indicator therefore normalizes net flow by its own trailing variability: the readout shows how many standard deviations current flow sits from its recent norm, "Total Flow +4.2σ (5m)". The readout is for the line your chart trades from, the core line, and names it: "Placement Flow +1.2σ (5m)" on a chart set to Placement Flow.

• The band is computed over a lookback of 5× the flow window by default (25 minutes for the 5-minute window, 50 for the 10-minute window). The multiple and the band width are the S/R Lookback Multiplier and S/R Standard Deviations settings; see calibrating the parameters.
• Because each reading is measured against the instrument's own recent variability, a σ value can be compared across sessions and instruments in a way raw contract counts cannot. The defaults are a starting point: instruments differ in pace and book depth, so you may want to adjust the depth and band settings for the market you trade (see calibrating the parameters).
• Until the lookback is fully seeded the readout shows a shorter window that is seeded, or a provisional estimate marked with ~; see warm-up stages.

The σ value heads each instrument's tile in the Pulling & Stacking Console and drives alert thresholds.

Next: the window ladder