Reading the SI Depth of Market (DOM) Like a Pro
SI’s DOM isn’t like ES or NQ. It’s thinner, more deceptive, and way easier to push around with modest size. If you try to read SI DOM like a deep equity index product, you’ll misread half the signals and get faked out constantly. This guide breaks down what actually matters on the SI DOM and what’s just noise.
Why SI DOM Is Harder to Read Than GC or ES
Silver futures have:
- thinner book depth
- wider natural spreads
- faster liquidity pulls
- more spoofing attempts
SI simply doesn’t have the same institutional bandwidth as ES or GC. That means:
A small order can move the book. A medium order can move the market.
Spread Behavior — The First Thing You Watch
SI’s spread naturally fluctuates between 1–3 ticks during liquid hours, and 3–6 ticks off-hours. When spreads widen:
- liquidity is drying up
- volatility expansion is coming
- slippage risk is rising
If you’re scalping SI without watching the spread, you’re asking for surprise fills you didn’t plan for.
Real Size vs. Fake Size (Spoofing)
SI sees more spoofing than any of the big metals. It’s thin enough that traders flash large orders to influence behavior, then pull the size before execution.
How to tell fake size from real size
- Fake size appears and disappears within 1–3 seconds
- Fake size is always far from the best bid/ask
- Real size survives pullbacks and gets slowly chipped away
- Real size remains steady into aggressor flow
A stack of 200 lots that evaporates the moment price approaches is spoofing. A stack of 40 lots that gets chewed 5–10 lots at a time is real.
Liquidity Pockets (The Real SI Cheat Code)
SI forms liquidity pockets — areas on the DOM where size consistently appears or defends. These pockets matter more than any indicator.
Two types matter:
- Passive defense — size sitting on a level, defending it
- Aggressive absorption — market orders hit size and can’t break it
If SI fails to break a level after multiple attempts and size reloads → that’s real defense. Traders who can spot this stay out of bad breakout trades.
Absorption — The Most Important DOM Signal on SI
Absorption happens when SI gets hammered by market orders but refuses to move. Because SI is thin, this stands out immediately.
Absorption signals:
- large trades hitting the bid/ask
- but price barely ticks
- resting size reloads in the same spot
When you see absorption, the breakout you’re waiting for is likely fake.
How To Read SI’s Pulling & Stacking Behavior
SI traders constantly pull liquidity when they sense:
- news approaching
- momentum shifts
- spoof attempts
- large iceberg absorption
A sudden pull of 50+ lots is usually a warning that volatility is coming.
Icebergs — Where the Real Money Hides
Iceberg orders don’t show full size. On SI, icebergs usually appear when:
- commercial buyers defend a level
- large players scale in without showing intent
If volume spikes but DOM size doesn’t shrink, you’re looking at an iceberg.
DOM Combined With Volume Profile = SI Cheat Mode
You saw in Best SI Technical Indicators how profile gives structure. DOM gives execution clarity.
Together, they show:
- where liquidity sits
- where momentum is real
- where price is likely to stall or rip
Practical DOM Rules for SI
- If spread > 3 ticks → size down or wait
- If size is flashing → ignore it
- If size reloads → respect the level
- If book pulls hard → expect volatility
- If iceberg flow hits → trend continuation is likely
Final Takeaway
The SI DOM is thin, fast, and brutally honest if you know what to look for. It exposes fake size, real levels, absorption, spread risks, and momentum way better than indicators ever will. If you want clean SI entries and you’re sick of getting wicked out, reading the DOM correctly is the closest thing to cheating you’ll ever get in this market.