Glossary

The options-flow vocabulary behind every post — gamma walls, dealer hedging, 0DTE, flip levels, and the rest, in plain English.

Gamma wall

A strike with very large options open interest where dealer gamma concentrates and price tends to pin.

Delta neutral

A position with net zero directional exposure — the constraint that forces dealer hedging flow.

Gamma

The rate of change of an option's delta as the underlying moves.

0DTE options

Options expiring the same day; their extreme gamma makes hedging and price highly reactive.

Dealer hedging

The underlying buying/selling market makers must do to offset the options they sold.

Call wall

The strike above spot with the largest call open interest; often acts as resistance.

Put wall

The strike below spot with the largest put open interest; often acts as support.

Gamma exposure (GEX)

The net dollar amount dealers must trade per move to stay hedged; sign tells you the volatility regime.

Max pain

The strike where the most options expire worthless — where price is often drawn into expiration.

Gamma flip level

The price where aggregate dealer gamma flips sign, changing whether moves are dampened or amplified.

Pinning

Price getting drawn to and held near a high-gamma strike into expiration.

Iron condor

A defined-risk income strategy that profits when the underlying stays in a range.

Relative volume (RVOL)

Current volume versus a strike's own recent baseline — how anomalies are flagged.

Open interest

The number of outstanding options contracts at a strike; concentrates dealer hedging.

Delta

How much an option's price moves per $1 move in the underlying — the exposure dealers neutralize.