💡 GEX Patterns & Concepts

When the stock is near the King Strike and overall GEX is positive, a pinning effect is commonly observed. Dealers continuously buy dips and sell rips, creating hedging pressure that tends to pull price toward that strike.

The Gamma Flip is the price level where net GEX flips from positive to negative. Below the flip, dealers' hedging tends to amplify moves; above it, hedging tends to dampen moves.

• Above Gamma Flip → Positive GEX environment. Dealer hedging tends to dampen volatility, often favoring range-bound behavior.
• Below Gamma Flip → Negative GEX environment. Dealer hedging tends to amplify moves, often resulting in sharper price action.

As options approach expiration, their gamma increases dramatically (especially for ATM options). This means the leftmost column in the heatmap has the most hedging impact.

• 0DTE / same-week expiry — Extremely high gamma. Price tends to cluster around high-OI strikes intraday.
• After expiration — Those contracts vanish. The GEX landscape can shift dramatically overnight. Always recheck the heatmap after every OpEx.
• Monthly OpEx (3rd Friday) — The largest gamma unwind of the month. Increased volatility is often observed the following Monday as the GEX landscape resets.

The summary bar at the top of the heatmap shows six key metrics for an instant snapshot of the overall options landscape:

• GEX Ratio — Balance between call and put gamma. Above 50% = calls dominate (stabilizing). Below 50% = puts dominate (amplifying).
• Net GEX — Total gamma exposure in dollar terms. Positive = dampening, negative = amplifying.
• IV Ratio — Are calls or puts relatively more expensive? Based on OI-weighted implied volatility. For index ETFs, sub-50% is normal due to structural put skew.
• Net IV — Absolute IV difference between calls and puts. Positive = calls more expensive; negative = puts more expensive.
• P/C OI — Put/Call open interest ratio. Above 1.0 = more puts than calls.
• Volume — Day volume for calls and puts, showing current session activity level.

GEX tells you where dealer hedging pressure should exist based on open interest. Fixed-strike IV change tells you whether the market is actively repricing risk at that level — the same strike and the same expiry compared against earlier snapshots, so spot drift and expiry roll-off can’t fake the signal.

• GEX level + IV falling at that strike → No fresh demand for options there. The level is holding without a fight.
• GEX level + IV rising at that strike → Active demand for options at that level. Positioning may be building against the GEX read.

IV badges on key strikes (King, Flip, Current Price) show real-time call/put IV with trend arrows (▲/▼). Click any cell for the intraday fixed-strike IV chart and change chips over 5m, 15m, 30m, 1h, and 4h.

The darkest cells on the heatmap represent the highest GEX concentration:

• Dark blue row → Major call wall. Dealers' hedging at this level tends to resist price moves through it.
• Dark red row → Major put wall. If price reaches this level, dealer hedging may accelerate the move.
• Cluster of dark cells at one strike → Multiple expirations aligned at the same strike = a very persistent level with layered hedging pressure.

GEX isn't static — it changes throughout the day as options are traded, prices move, and OI shifts. GammaBaba auto-refreshes to capture these changes.

• Click any cell → See how the GEX value changed over 1m, 5m, 15m, 1h, and 4h.
• A cell that was light but is now getting darker means new positioning is building at that level.
• A King Strike that shifts during the day indicates large new positions being opened, shifting the center of dealer hedging.

GEX is a useful analytical lens, but it has clear limitations:

• Direction — GEX shows where hedging pressure exists, not which direction the stock will move.
• Timing — A strong GEX level may hold for hours or be broken in minutes by a catalyst (earnings, news, macro events).
• Hidden positions — OTC options, exotic structures, and dark pool activity don't appear in GEX data.
• Post-market changes — After-hours trading can move price beyond GEX levels before the next session.
• Dealer positioning assumption — GEX assumes a specific model of who is long and short gamma. Use fixed-strike IV to check whether observable market behavior aligns with the model.