Dashboard Overview
The Greeks dashboard gives you four key analytics in one place: the GEX by Strike chart, the Gamma Flip level card, the Max Pain card, and the Unusual Flow signals table. Together, they tell you: (1) what dealers are positioned to do, (2) where price is likely to gravitate, and (3) whether smart money is taking a directional stance.
Start with the GEX regime before any trade — it sets context for everything else. Positive GEX → expect smaller moves and mean reversion. Negative GEX → expect larger moves and trend-following behavior that can overwhelm technical levels.
Reading the GEX by Strike Chart
The GEX by Strike chart is the centerpiece of the dashboard. It shows bars at each strike price along the options chain — visualizing where dealer hedging pressure is concentrated and in which direction.
- Green bars represent positive gamma at that strike — dealers are long gamma here, so their hedging is stabilizing. These strikes act as support/resistance because dealer buying flows counteract price movement away from them.
- Red bars represent negative gamma — dealers are short gamma here, so their hedging amplifies moves through these levels.
- The Call Wall is the largest green bar above spot price — a strong resistance level where dealer buying flows counteract upward moves.
- The Put Wall is the largest red bar below spot — where dealer selling flows can accelerate declines.
- The blue dashed vertical line marks the current spot price (SPOT).
- The amber dashed line marks the Gamma Flip level (FLIP) — the single most important reference line on the chart.
Scanning the chart takes 10 seconds: note where spot sits relative to FLIP, identify the call wall and put wall, and you immediately know the likely range bounds for the session.
The Gamma Flip Card
The Gamma Flip is the price level where aggregate GEX crosses zero — from positive above to negative below (or vice versa). It's the single most actionable level the dashboard provides.
- When spot is above the Gamma Flip: Positive GEX regime → stabilizing hedging flows, tighter trading ranges, price tends to mean revert. Fading moves from extreme levels tends to work. Volatility strategies (short straddles, iron condors) perform well.
- When spot is below the Gamma Flip: Negative GEX regime → destabilizing hedging flows, wider moves, trends tend to persist. Momentum and directional strategies tend to outperform. Stop-loss levels need to be wider.
The Gamma Flip level itself often acts as intraday support or resistance — watch for reactions when spot approaches it from either direction.
The Max Pain Card
Max Pain shows the strike where the most options contracts (by open interest × premium) would expire worthless. When a large number of contracts are centered around a particular strike, dealers have a mechanical incentive to keep price near that level — their hedges are most balanced there.
The closer expiration gets (especially the final 48 hours), the stronger the gravitational pull of Max Pain. In the last two hours of trading on opex Friday, Max Pain acts as a magnet for large-cap indices like SPY and QQQ.
The dashboard shows you Max Pain for the nearest weekly and monthly expirations — so you always know where the gravitational center sits regardless of which expiry is closest.
The Unusual Flow Table
The flow table shows options contracts with abnormally high volume relative to open interest — signals that someone, somewhere, is making a large and potentially informed bet. Each row shows: ticker, strike, expiry, call/put, Vol/OI ratio, DTE, and severity.
How to read the severity levels:
- High severity: Vol/OI ≥ 8× — extremely abnormal, large directional positioning or news-driven activity
- Medium severity: Vol/OI 3–8× — significant above-average activity, worth monitoring for follow-through
- Opening position: OI was near 0, new volume ≥ 50 — brand new position, fresh conviction
Higher severity + shorter DTE + far OTM = more speculative, higher directional conviction. This combination signals someone believes a large move will happen quickly.
Not all unusual flow is directional. Large put purchases on SPY are often portfolio hedges by institutional investors. Focus on OTM calls with high Vol/OI and short DTE for the most directional signals. Puts on major ETFs require more context before interpreting as bearish conviction.
A 3-Minute Daily Workflow
You don't need to spend hours with the dashboard. A focused 3-minute routine before market open gives you the context you need for the entire session:
- Check the GEX regime — positive or negative? Above or below the Gamma Flip? This determines your overall strategy bias for the day: mean reversion vs trend following, tight stops vs wide stops.
- Note the Gamma Flip level — treat it as a key intraday support/resistance line. A break above on high volume is a bullish signal; a break below is bearish. Price action at the Flip is often the most important event of the day.
- Check Max Pain — where is expiry gravitating? How far from current price? Is it within the expected move? Closer = stronger gravity, especially in the last 48 hours.
- Scan unusual flow — any high-conviction signals in your watchlist tickers? Look for short-DTE, OTM calls or puts with Vol/OI above 5× as the highest-priority signals.
Pro tip: Bookmark a watchlist of SPY, QQQ, AAPL and run this 3-minute routine every morning before market open. Understanding the dealer positioning regime before you trade is the single biggest edge this dashboard provides. Context first, trade second — always.