All levels · 14 lessons · about 56 min

Market lessons

Short lessons on things markets really do: call wall stalls, gap fills, VWAP reclaims, IV crush and more. Each one ends with the live tool that shows it.

  1. 01Why price stalled at the call wallStandard models assume customers sell calls against stock, so dealers end up long those calls.
  2. 02The VWAP reclaimVWAP is the volume-weighted average price for the session so far. Institutions use it to benchmark their fills.
  3. 03IV crush after earningsBefore earnings, traders buy options because no one knows which direction the stock will move.
  4. 04Reading the gap fillWhen a stock opens above or below the prior close with no trades in between, that empty zone is often revisited.
  5. 05Dark pool levels as supportA dark pool print is a large block trade executed off-exchange. When an institution trades several hundred thousand shares at a…
  6. 06The failed breakout trapFailed ones trap them. A breakout above a well-known resistance level pulls in momentum traders.
  7. 07Opex pinningAs options approach expiration, gamma spikes for near-term strikes. Dealers managing that gamma often hedge in ways that push…
  8. 08What a put sweep before a drop looks likeSome is not. Most options prints are hedges or covered positions. What stands out is unusual size on a specific strike in a…
  9. 09Golden sweep on a breakoutA golden sweep is a large single call sweep, typically over $500K in premium, filled at the ask.
  10. 10When VWAP becomes resistanceA stock that loses VWAP and fails three attempts to reclaim it in the same session is showing persistent selling pressure.
  11. 11Double top at all-time highsA double top forms when price reaches a high, pulls back, returns to the same level, and fails again.
  12. 12Post-earnings accumulation in dark poolsWhen a stock drops 15% on earnings, retail attention spikes and then fades within days.
  13. 13Negative gamma days and wider rangesWhen price is above the gamma flip, dealers are long gamma and their hedging dampens moves.
  14. 14The trade you almost did not logMost traders log their setups faithfully and skip the exceptions: the revenge trade, the FOMO entry, the position held past every…

Educational content only. Not financial advice.