Market Orders and Aggressive Traders

Aggressive traders don't always control the direction of price.

Marketable orders prioritize execution against available liquidity. In order flow discussions, traders often associate buying at the ask with aggressive buying and selling at the bid with aggressive selling.

But aggressive activity doesn't guarantee directional success.

Imagine buyers repeatedly execute at the ask while price remains stuck below resistance.

The buying is real, but the expected upward progress isn't happening.

That difference can be important.

Rather than asking only which side is more aggressive, I also ask whether that aggression is producing results.

A trader can be active without being effective. Understanding that distinction is one of the most useful lessons in reading order flow.