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Trading Glossary
New to options flow? Every term below also shows up as a small ⓘ tooltip throughout the app — so the jargon explains itself while you trade.
How to read the tape in 4 steps
- 1Start with size
Big premium is the tell. A $2M sweep means someone with real money has a real opinion — that's why we rank by it.
- 2Check it's new money
Volume far above open interest means fresh positioning, not someone closing an old trade. New conviction is what you want to see.
- 3Read the urgency
Sweeps and Golden Sweeps were chased across exchanges — the buyer wanted in now. Low DTE means they expect the move soon.
- 4Look for repeats
The same strike hit again and again (the ⚡ badge) is accumulation — the single strongest 'this is real' signal on the tape.
Options Basics
The total dollars spent on an options trade — contracts × price × 100. It's the size of the bet.
How to use itBigger premium = more conviction (and usually 'smarter' money). We surface trades with large premium because they're the ones institutions actually care about.
The price at which an option lets you buy (call) or sell (put) the stock.
How to use itCompare the strike to the current price: a call far above the stock is a bet it'll rally hard; a put far below is a bet it'll fall hard.
The date the option contract expires and stops trading.
How to use itNear-dated expiries are short-term, higher-conviction bets; far-dated ones are slower, longer-horizon positions.
How many calendar days until the option expires.
How to use itLow DTE (days) means a fast, urgent bet — time decay is brutal, so someone buying it expects a move *soon*. High DTE means patience.
How many contracts traded today on this option.
How to use itWhen today's volume dwarfs the existing open interest, it usually means brand-new positioning — not someone just closing an old trade.
The number of contracts currently held open on this strike (not yet closed or expired).
How to use itVolume far above OI = fresh conviction. Volume below OI = likely position-closing. We flag the ratio so you can tell new bets from exits.
Flow & Conviction
An order split across multiple exchanges and filled instantly — the buyer wanted in NOW and paid up to get filled.
How to use itSweeps signal urgency. Someone willing to chase the price across exchanges usually has a strong, time-sensitive view.
Our highest-tier sweep — a large, aggressive, multi-exchange order that clears our strictest size and urgency bar.
How to use itThese are the rarest, highest-conviction prints on the tape. Worth a closer look when one fires on a ticker you follow.
A single large trade negotiated privately and printed at once — classic institutional footprint.
How to use itBlocks are often hedged or part of a bigger strategy, so read them alongside the rest of the day's flow rather than in isolation.
A larger order broken into smaller pieces, often to reduce market impact.
Our 0–100+ rating of how unusual a trade is — blending size, volume-vs-open-interest, urgency, and other signals.
How to use itHigher score = more statistically abnormal (and more interesting). The tiers — Unusual, High Conviction, Institutional, Extreme — group scores into plain labels.
The same strike getting hit multiple times within about an hour — someone is accumulating one contract on purpose.
How to use itRepeated buying on a single strike is one of the strongest 'this is real conviction, not noise' signals. EXTREME = 3+ hits, HIGH = 2.
Which direction a trade is betting. Bought calls / sold puts lean bullish; bought puts / sold calls lean bearish.
How to use itWe weight overall sentiment by premium, so a few huge bullish bets outweigh many tiny bearish ones. Closing/hedging prints are treated as neutral.
Volatility & Risk
The market's expectation of how much a stock will move, baked into the option's price.
How to use itHigh IV = expensive options (big move expected, e.g. before earnings). Low IV = cheap options. IV usually crashes right after earnings ('IV crush').
How much dealers must buy or sell to stay hedged as price moves. It measures volatility pressure, not direction.
How to use itPositive GEX tends to pin price and dampen moves; negative GEX can accelerate them. The 'gamma flip' level is where that behavior switches.
Where the strike sits vs the stock price: In-, At-, or Out-of-the-Money.
How to use itOTM bets are cheaper, higher-risk, higher-reward 'lottery' positioning; ITM bets are more like a leveraged stock position.
The range the options market is pricing in for a stock by a given date — often used around earnings.
How to use itIf a stock moves less than its expected move, premium sellers usually win; more, and buyers win. Great for sizing an earnings play.
A scanner score that ranks how much activity a name is seeing relative to its premium — surfacing overlooked, active tickers.
Strategies
Selling a put while holding enough cash to buy the stock if assigned. You collect premium and may get the stock at a discount.
How to use itThe income half of 'the wheel'. You get paid to wait for a price you'd be happy to buy at.
Selling a call against stock you already own to collect premium, capping your upside in exchange for income.
How to use itThe second half of 'the wheel' — once a CSP assigns you shares, you sell calls against them.
A repeating income strategy: sell cash-secured puts until assigned shares, then sell covered calls until they're called away — and repeat.
How to use itOur Wheel Tracker manages this lifecycle for you and tallies the premium collected on each leg.
How much value an option loses each day just from time passing.
How to use itTheta works against option buyers and for sellers — it's why short-DTE long options need the move to happen quickly.
Market Sentiment
Total put volume divided by call volume. Above 1 leans bearish/hedging; well below 1 leans bullish.
How to use itExtreme readings are often contrarian — everyone hedged (very high) or everyone greedy (very low) can mark turning points.
CNN's 0–100 gauge of overall market mood, from Extreme Fear (0) to Extreme Greed (100).
How to use itA quick top-down read. Compare it to our flow-derived sentiment — when they disagree (e.g. greedy tape but bearish flow), that divergence is itself a signal.