HOW IT WORKS

How options market structure
actually moves price

A 5-minute guide to gamma exposure, structural levels, and why this data gives you an edge — plus how GammaLens makes it all visible.

Step 1

What is Gamma Exposure?

When you buy or sell an option, a market maker takes the other side. To stay neutral, they have to hedge — buying or selling the underlying stock to offset their risk.

Gamma Exposure (GEX) measures how much hedging dealers need to do at each strike price. High positive GEX at a strike means dealers will buy dips and sell rips there — creating a magnet. High negative GEX means dealers amplify moves — creating a breakout zone.

This is why price “sticks” to certain levels and “explodes” through others. It's not random — it's structural.

See this in: Gamma Profile tool
Gamma Exposure by Strike
SPY
$670SPOT $682$700
◼ Negative GEX (put-heavy)◼ Positive GEX (call-heavy)
Step 2

Structural Levels: The lines that matter

GammaLens calculates six key levels from the options chain that institutional traders watch:

Call Wall
Highest positive call gamma — acts as a ceiling
Put Wall
Highest positive put gamma — acts as a floor
Zero Gamma
Where net gamma flips sign — the volatility trigger
+GEX / -GEX
Max positive and negative exposure strikes

These aren't arbitrary lines on a chart. They're calculated from real open interest data and represent where dealers are forced to hedge. Price respects these levels because real money is behind them.

See this in: Options Matrix + Gamma Profile
Structural Levels — SPY
Call Wall
700
+GEX (Max Pos.)
700
Spot Price
681.75
Zero Gamma
678
Put Wall
675
-GEX (Max Neg.)
675
Step 3

Reading the Regime

The gamma regime tells you how the market will behave — not just where, but how violently.

In a positive gamma environment, dealers are hedged in a way that dampens moves. They buy weakness and sell strength. Markets chop sideways, pin to strikes, and stay calm.

In a negative gamma environment, it's the opposite. Dealers are forced to sell into drops and buy into rips — amplifying every move. This is when markets break through levels and trend hard.

Knowing the regime before you trade changes everything. It tells you whether to fade moves or ride them.

See this in: Regime badge on every tool + AI Insights
Gamma Regime
Positive γ
Dealers long gamma. They buy dips, sell rips. Market stays in a range. Low volatility.
Negative γ
Dealers short gamma. They sell into drops, buy into rips. Moves accelerate. High volatility.
SPY is currently in a Negative Gamma regime
Step 4

The Full Toolkit

GammaLens gives you eight professional tools in one dashboard. Each one is designed for a specific part of the market structure puzzle.

Options Matrix
Strike-level table with OI, delta, gamma, charm bars and full sidebar
Gamma Profile
GEX/DEX/VEX bar chart across strikes with structural level markers
HeatMap
Market-wide treemap of gamma exposure across 4,500+ symbols
Scenario Lab
What-if simulator — see how levels shift with price and vol changes
Volatility Surface
Full IV surface and skew visualization across expirations
Greeks
Vanna, charm, and higher-order greeks mapped by strike
Flow Pulse
Unusual options activity and large trade detection
History
Historical gamma levels and regime changes over time

All tools included in every plan — including Free.

GET STARTED

Three steps. Under a minute.

1

Sign up free

No credit card required. Your account is ready in seconds with full access to SPY and QQQ data.

2

Pick a ticker

Search any of 4,500+ US equities and ETFs. Add multiple tickers as tabs to track simultaneously.

3

See the structure

Explore gamma exposure, structural levels, regime, and AI insights. Make your next trade with conviction.

See it for yourself.

The best way to understand market structure is to see it live. Open the dashboard and explore — no signup required for the free tier.