Gamma Exposure (GEX) by Strike
Gamma Exposure (GEX) is the most important metric on this dashboard. It measures
the total dollar-gamma held by options market makers at each strike price, aggregated
across all active expirations. The unit is billions of dollars per 1% move in SPX.
Positive GEX (blue bars, right side): Dealers are net long gamma
at this strike. They will sell SPX futures when price rises toward the strike and
buy when price falls — a stabilizing, mean-reverting force. This is typical at
high-open-interest call strikes where dealers are short calls (long gamma).
Negative GEX (red bars, left side): Dealers are net short gamma
at this strike. Their hedging is destabilizing — they must buy into rallies and
sell into declines. Large negative GEX clusters below spot signal potential
acceleration zones if price breaks through them.
The Zero Gamma Level (shown in the summary bar above) is the price
at which total dealer GEX crosses from positive to negative. This level acts as a
structural pivot: markets tend to be more stable and range-bound above it, and
more volatile and trending below it. It is recalculated each time you load the page.
Call Wall
The strike with the largest positive GEX. Acts as a ceiling — heavy dealer selling resists moves above it.
Put Wall
The strike with the largest negative GEX below spot. A break through can trigger accelerated selling.
Zero Gamma Level
Where total GEX crosses zero. Above = positive gamma regime (dampened vol). Below = negative gamma (amplified vol).
Max Pain
The strike where total options value is minimized at expiration. A gravitational pull as OPEX approaches.
Options Volume by Strike — Where Traders Are Active Today
Options volume shows where trading activity is concentrated on a given day. Unlike
open interest (which accumulates over time), volume resets each session — making it
a real-time signal of where options market participants are actively positioning.
Large call volume at a strike just above spot suggests traders are buying upside
protection or speculating on a breakout. Large put volume below spot indicates
hedging demand or bearish positioning. When volume is heavily concentrated at a
single strike, it often becomes a self-fulfilling magnet for price action as
dealers delta-hedge the newly written options.
The Put/Call Volume Ratio (shown in the summary bar) tells you
the overall market lean: values above 1.0 indicate more puts than calls traded
today — typically defensive or bearish. Values below 0.7 suggest call-heavy
activity, often seen during sustained uptrends or into earnings events.
Gamma Exposure Profile — Simulated Impact Across Price Range
The Gamma Exposure Profile chart below takes a different approach from the bar
charts. Rather than showing GEX at each discrete strike, it simulates the
aggregate hedging flow that dealers would generate if SPX moved to each
price level along the X-axis. This uses a Hybrid Gaussian Convolution model that
weights each option's contribution by its implied volatility and time to expiry —
producing a smooth, continuous exposure curve.
The curve peaks where dealer hedging demand is highest, and the zero
crossing (the annotated line on the chart) is the precise Zero Gamma
Level — the price at which total simulated gamma flips from positive to negative.
This is a more robust estimate than simply reading the bar chart, because it
accounts for the probabilistic reach of nearby strikes via their implied vol.
Traders use the profile to identify: (1) where dealer buying support kicks in
below spot, (2) where selling pressure emerges above spot, and (3) how "sharp"
the gamma flip is — a steep crossing indicates a hard structural level, while
a shallow crossing suggests a softer, more gradual regime shift.
Gamma Exposure History — Structural Trends Over Time
The Gamma History chart shows how total SPX gamma exposure has evolved over the
recent OPEX cycle. Each data point represents the net dealer GEX position
(in $Bn) at the time of data collection. Watching this trend reveals the
"gamma buildup" as open interest accumulates into a major expiration date, and
the "gamma unwind" that typically follows as options expire and are closed.
A sustained decline in total gamma into an OPEX event signals that the stabilizing
dealer hedging floor is eroding — often seen in the days before large OPEX-driven
moves. A sharp spike upward, by contrast, indicates aggressive new call or put
writing, which increases the dealer gamma buffer and can compress realized volatility.
Plus and Pro subscribers can view historical snapshots at any
time of day going back up to 31 days, compare positioning across multiple
timestamps, and track delta, vanna, and charm exposure alongside gamma — giving
a full-spectrum view of the options dealer book.