Options trading glossary

The real-time record of options trades printing on the tape — especially the large ones — used to see where big money is positioning.

Options trading that's abnormally large or aggressive relative to a contract's normal volume — the subset of flow worth flagging.

One order split across multiple exchanges and filled immediately. Signals urgency — someone who wants in now and will pay up across the book.

A single large negotiated trade, often printed away from the exchanges. Signals size and planning.

A large, opening sweep bought at the ask that scanners flag as especially significant positioning.

Where a trade filled. At the ask = the buyer paid up (aggressive demand); at the bid = the seller hit the bid (supply). The clearest read on aggression.

How many contracts traded during the current session. Resets to zero every morning — today's activity.

How many contracts are still open (not closed or expired). Updates once a day — the standing position. Volume above OI signals new positioning.

The dollar cost of an option (or, in flow, the total dollars spent on a trade). Weigh flow by premium, not contract count.

How much an option's price moves for a $1 move in the stock — and a rough probability it finishes in the money.

The rate at which delta changes as the stock moves. Highest for near-the-money, short-dated options — the engine behind a gamma squeeze.

Time decay — how much an option loses in value each day, all else equal. Why a call can fall even when the stock is flat.

How much an option's price changes for a one-point change in implied volatility. High before events, then crushed after.

The market's forecast of how big a move will be, priced into the option. Sets whether a contract is cheap or expensive — size, not direction.

A sharp drop in IV — classically right after earnings — that can lose an option value even when you were right on direction.

The one-standard-deviation range the options market implies by expiration — roughly the at-the-money straddle price.

The price the option is a bet on — where it can be exercised.

In the money has intrinsic value; at the money sits at the stock price; out of the money has no intrinsic value yet. Most flow lottos are OTM.

Days to expiration. Short DTE = urgent and gamma-sensitive; long DTE = a positioning/conviction bet.

An option expiring the same trading day — extremely sensitive to both price moves and time decay. Common on SPY/QQQ.

Intrinsic is how far in the money the option already is; extrinsic is the time-and-volatility premium on top, which decays to zero by expiration.

A map of the net gamma dealers must hedge — showing whether they'll dampen or amplify the market's moves.

In positive gamma dealers trade against the move (calm, range-bound); in negative gamma they chase it (volatile, trending).

The strikes with the largest positive (call wall — resistance magnet) and negative (put wall — support / through-level) dealer gamma.

The price where net dealer gamma crosses zero. Above it the tape is usually suppressed; below it, amplified. The most important level on a gamma map.

A feedback loop where heavy call buying forces dealers to buy shares to hedge, pushing price up and forcing more buying — until it unwinds.

The strike where the most option contracts expire worthless — where option buyers, in aggregate, lose the most into expiration.

A three-candle price imbalance where the first and third candles' wicks don't overlap, leaving an untraded gap price tends to return and fill.

Exponential moving average — recent closes weighted toward the latest bars. Stacked EMAs (100/200/250) read trend and act as dynamic support.

Relative Strength Index — a 0–100 momentum oscillator. Above 70 overbought, below 30 oversold; divergence matters more than the raw level.