Time Value Area High (tVAH)

Time Value Area High (tVAH), also called TPO VAH, is the upper boundary of the TPO Value Area—the highest price level included in the range that contains a chosen percentage of total TPO blocks (commonly 70%, configurable).

A TPO (Market Profile) organizes trading activity by time spent at each price, using letters/blocks that represent fixed time segments. The Value Area is the price range with the highest concentration of those blocks, and tVAH is simply the top edge of that range for the selected profile period.

• Choose your TPO profile window (session/day/week/month, including any custom session rules).
• Set the block size (the time each letter/block represents) and row size (ticks/price per row).
• Count total TPO blocks, compute the target block count based on the Value Area percent, and start at TPO POC (the row with the most blocks).
• Expand outward from POC by comparing the next row above vs. below and adding the side with more blocks until the target is reached; the highest included price row becomes tVAH (and the lowest becomes tVAL).

tVAH is commonly used in three connected ways:

• Boundary of value (premium vs. fair value): price above tVAH is often framed as trading “above value” (premium) for that profile, while price inside value suggests a more balanced zone.
• Acceptance vs. rejection test: if price moves outside value and sustains time-at-price there, traders may read that as acceptance; a fast rotation back into value is often read as rejection.
• Support/resistance reference: TPO analysis often treats VAH/VAL/POC as structural levels for future reaction and decision-making rather than “signals.”

• Extended tVAH line/label: many platforms can extend VAH/VAL levels beyond the profile period for future interaction and planning.
• Developing VAH/VAL: some tools can display developing value boundaries that update as the profile builds (or explicitly distinguish developing vs completed).

Note: Alerts on extended tVAH: some platforms support alerts specifically for price crossing extended VAL, and may restrict alerts to completed profiles to reduce noise.

• Defining tVAH as “time and volume.” tVAH is time-based (TPO blocks). Volume-based VAH is a different construct (volume value area).
• Assuming tVAH is “universal.” Changing block size, row size, session rules, or value-area % can change the computed level.
• Comparing tVAH across platforms without matching settings. Causes of mismatches can be session times, bar period vs block size, value-area %, price increment/tick size, etc.
• Treating tVAH as a standalone trade trigger. Platform education frames VAH/VAL/POC as reference levels for support/resistance and market-structure reading, not guaranteed outcomes.