Bid and ask wall explained?

[Seno]

Hi guys,

I'm relatively new to bitcoins. I see people talking about bid and ask walls, but I don't really understand their purpose yet. I know that a wall is a large amount on the bid or ask side, I figured that out ;p
The thing is, I can't figure out their effects on the market. What is their effect on the prices, how to gain benefit from those walls, do does walls effect me, etc.

I would love to see an easy explanation, Google wouldn't answer my question. Thanks in advance!

[CIYAM]

Quite simply a wall can act as a price "holder" - if placed on the Bid side then you can read it as being an indicator that the price is unlikely to drop below it without a significant amount of trades and if placed on the Ask side then as an indicator that the price is unlikely to raise above it.

Note that walls can disappear at any time (as the orders can just be cancelled) so they are often also used by people attempting to manipulate the people (or perhaps bots) that are observing them.

[prolom]

Are the walls represented as steep declines and inclines on the market depth chart? How do you take them into account when placing a buy or a sell order? For instance if I do want to buy in that price range I would place an order which is a bit in front of the wall? I don't know if my question makes sense because I'm not a trader.

prolom.

[dbt1033]

I know this isn't the answer you are looking for, but if you are truly interested in trading i recommend giving the following site a look http://stockcharts.com/school/doku.php?id=chart_school:chart_analysis:introduction_to_cand . Most exchange sites provide a candlestick chart that represents buying/selling pressure during specific trading intervals.  It will teach you how to recognize trends and hopefully make trading a profitable endeavor.  Best of luck!

[prolom]

Thanks, this is actually the page I was reading to try and understand candlestick charts.

It does not mention walls at all though.

prolom.