Tradytics Learn

Plain answers to what traders ask about options flow, dark pool prints, prediction markets, gamma and the greeks, and every Tradytics feature and dataset, with real examples from today's market.

Options flow

  • What spreads and fees do to unusual options flow signals: Tradytics compared 15,754 matched options-flow outcomes across 380 sessions. Buying at the ask and selling at the bid with fees cut the midpoint result by a median of $17.30 per contract.
  • How do you backtest options flow?: Describe the rule in plain words in the Tradytics backtester: it runs on every options flow order since March 31, 2025 (19.96 million), fills the options at the real bid and ask with $0.65 a contract, and shows every trade, Sharpe and drawdown.
  • What is whales positioning in options flow?: Whales positioning tracks net premium on a stock's 10 busiest option strikes (call premium bought minus put premium bought), added up day by day over the last seven sessions, shown on Tradytics as lines tagged by strike or a strike ladder with the price marked.
  • The history of market net flow: Market net flow charts the whole market's cumulative net options premium through the day against SPY. Tradytics has published market-wide net options flow since 2022, a year before Unusual Whales' Market Tide, and per-stock net flow lines since 2021.
  • What is options flow?: Options flow is the live record of options trades on US exchanges: what traded, how much was paid and which side was aggressive. It shows where money went, not why.
  • What is unusual options activity?: Unusual options activity is trading far bigger than normal for one contract, usually more volume than open interest, which points to a new position. It shows conviction, not intent.
  • How to read options flow, step by step: Read each row in order: what traded, when it expires, strike vs price, premium, side, size vs open interest and trade type, then the context. One real QQQ trade, walked through.
  • What makes an options trade unusual?: A trade is unusual when it's big for that contract and stock: size above open interest, large premium for the name, an aggressive fill, and often a short expiry or a far strike.
  • Does following unusual options activity work?: Not as a standalone signal. Unusual options activity shows where big money went, but much of it is hedges, spreads or closing trades. It works best as context for an idea you already have.
  • Is unusual options activity a sign of insider trading?: Rarely. The SEC does charge people who buy short-dated out-of-the-money calls before takeovers, but nearly all unusual options activity is hedging, spreads and ordinary bets.
  • How to tell if an options trade was bought or sold: Compare the trade price with the bid and ask when it printed: at or above the ask, a buyer paid up; at or below the bid, a seller hit it. Mid prints can't be called either way.
  • How to tell if a big options trade is a hedge: A big trade is likely a hedge when it's puts on an index or ETF, months out, near the price, paired with other legs or bought into a drop. Real October 30, 2026 examples.
  • Opening vs closing: how to tell from the flow: If a trade is bigger than the contract's open interest, at least part of it must be new. Otherwise the tape can't tell you: check whether open interest rises or falls at the next update.
  • What "at the ask" and "at the bid" mean in options flow: "At the ask" means a buyer paid the sellers' price: an aggressive buy. "At the bid" means a seller took the buyers' price: an aggressive sell. Mid prints have no clear side.
  • Is a put sweep bullish or bearish?: It depends on the side. A put sweep bought at or above the ask leans bearish or is a hedge; one sold at or below the bid leans bullish. A sweep at the mid has no clear lean.
  • What is an options sweep?: An options sweep is one large order that fills against the best prices on several exchanges at once. Traders read it as urgency; it doesn't show whether the trade opened or was a hedge.
  • What is a block trade in options?: An options block trade is one very large trade printed in a single piece, usually negotiated first and then crossed on an exchange. Tradytics labels a crossed trade, or any single trade of 5,000+ contracts, a block.
  • Sweep vs block vs split: what's the difference?: A sweep fills one order across several exchanges at once, a block is one huge trade in a single print, and a split is a big order filled in pieces on one exchange. None shows direction alone.
  • What is a golden sweep?: A golden sweep is a vendor label for a large options sweep, usually $1M or more in premium, filled at or above the ask. It flags a big, urgent buy, not whether it opened a bet or a hedge.
  • Why premium matters more than the number of contracts: Premium (contracts x price x 100) is the money actually spent, so it shows real size. Contract counts mislead because an option can cost $3 or $400 a share. Check intrinsic value next.
  • How to filter options flow and cut the noise: Filter options flow in this order: a premium floor sized to the stock, an aggressive side, size bigger than open interest, an expiry that fits your timeframe, and no spreads. Then group by ticker.
  • Volume vs open interest: what's the difference and why it matters: Volume is contracts traded today; open interest is contracts still open after the last close, counted by OCC once a day. Volume above open interest means at least part of today's trading is new.
  • What big call buying before earnings means: Big call buying before earnings is usually a bet on a rally, but implied volatility collapses after the report, so the stock must rise more than the inflated premium. Call selling often offsets it.
  • Why would someone buy millions in far out-of-the-money calls?: Big far out-of-the-money call buys are a cheap, capped-risk bet on a big move, one leg of a call spread, a hedge for a short position, or short calls being closed. Check for a sold leg first.
  • What are 0DTE options?: 0DTE options are contracts traded on the day they expire. SPX, SPY and QQQ now expire every weekday, and same-day trades were a record 66.2% of SPX options volume in July 2026.
  • How to read 0DTE options flow: Read 0DTE flow as a live map of positioning for today's close, not a forecast: where same-day premium piles up by strike, which side it hits, and whether dealers are long or short gamma.
  • What is net options flow (net premium)?: Net options flow (net premium) is bullish-leaning premium minus bearish-leaning premium: calls bought and puts sold, minus puts bought and calls sold. Mid-price trades count for neither.
  • How to read spreads and multi-leg trades in the flow: A spread shows up as matching prints at the same moment in different strikes or expiries. Read the legs as one trade: net cost and max gain or loss, not the headline premium of one leg.
  • How to use options flow for swing trading: For swing trades, follow new, one-sided options positions that expire weeks to a few months out and repeat across sessions, confirm with next-day open interest, and time entries with levels.
  • What short-dated vs LEAPS options flow tells you: Expiry is the trader's deadline. Short-dated flow is a bet or hedge on a near move and the noisiest; LEAPS flow (9 months to 3 years) is often a stock substitute or long hedge.
  • Where does options flow data come from?: Options flow comes from OPRA, the consolidated tape of every US options exchange's trades and quotes. It shows price, size and exchange, but not who bought or sold, so tools infer the side.
  • How beginners should use options flow: Beginners should use options flow to find and study ideas, not to copy trades: read side, size vs open interest and expiry, rule out spreads and hedges, keep risk small and skip 0DTE.
  • Why options flow alerts seem to come after the move: Flow alerts seem late because much flow reacts to moves already made, big moves happen before options trade, many feeds are delayed, and hindsight picks winners. The tape itself is fast.
  • Is paying for options flow worth it?: Live options flow is worth paying for if you trade options during market hours and use it for context, not copy trades. Swing traders and beginners can usually start free on yesterday's data.

Dark pools

  • How do you backtest dark pool prints?: Describe the rule in plain words in the Tradytics backtester: it runs on every dark pool block print since October 28, 2024 (24.4 million prints across 14,147 tickers), each ranked against the stock's own last 12 months, and shows every trade, Sharpe and drawdown.
  • Ranked dark pool prints: why rank beats size: Tradytics ranks every dark pool block print against the stock's own last 12 months by dollar value, so #1 is the biggest print of the year for that stock, and shows where those dollars concentrated as dark pool levels, as a volume profile and as levels on the chart.
  • What is a dark pool?: A dark pool is a private stock trading venue, legally an alternative trading system run by a broker-dealer, that hides orders before they fill and reports every trade to FINRA after.
  • Are dark pools legal?: Yes. Dark pools are legal, regulated venues: SEC Regulation ATS requires a registered broker-dealer operator, FINRA membership, public Form ATS-N disclosure and every trade reported.
  • Why do dark pools exist?: Dark pools exist because showing a big order moves the price against you. Hiding it until it fills cuts price impact and information leakage, at the cost of a less certain fill.
  • What are dark pool prints?: A dark pool print is the public record of an off-exchange stock trade, reported to FINRA after it executes: price, shares, time and condition codes, but never who bought or sold.
  • How to read dark pool prints: Read dark pool prints in bulk: drop prints far from the market price, set aside closing-price trades, compare size with a usual day, then watch where dollars cluster over days.
  • Are dark pool prints bullish or bearish?: Neither on their own. Every print has a buyer and a seller, and the record doesn't say who started it. Prints far above or below the market are usually late or closing-price trades.
  • What are dark pool levels, and do they act as support?: A dark pool level is a price where unusually large off-exchange dollars traded over recent sessions. Traders watch levels as support or resistance, but they are maps, not floors.
  • How much stock trading happens in dark pools?: Dark pools (ATSs) handle about a tenth of US stock volume: 10.7% in early 2023, per the SEC. All off-exchange trading, wholesalers included, was about 44%: the 'nearly half' figure.
  • Is dark pool data real time?: No. Off-exchange trades are reported to FINRA after they execute, and the biggest are often reported late at earlier prices, on every platform. Read dark pool data for levels and size, not timing.
  • What is a late or out-of-sequence dark pool print?: A late print is an off-exchange trade reported over 10 seconds after it executed, often a block priced off an earlier moment. It hits the tape out of order and says little about the price now.
  • Are there dark pools for options?: No. US listed options trade on exchanges and every trade goes out on OPRA, the options tape. Even giant negotiated blocks are crossed on an exchange and show up when they trade.
  • Does my order go through a dark pool?: Usually not a dark pool, and usually not an exchange either: most retail stock orders go to wholesalers that fill them off-exchange. Your broker's Rule 606 report shows where orders went.
  • Who trades in dark pools?: Mostly institutions (pension funds, mutual funds, hedge funds) and the brokers trading for them, in pools run by banks and brokers. Individual traders rarely touch one, and no print names the buyer.
  • Dark pool vs lit exchange: what's the difference?: A lit exchange shows bids and offers before a trade and prints it at once. A dark pool hides orders until they fill, prices off the exchanges, and reports each trade to FINRA afterward.
  • Is off-exchange or short volume the same as dark pool volume?: No. Off-exchange volume includes dark pools and wholesalers. FINRA's short sale volume is the short-marked part of that volume, not short interest, and it overstates real shorting.
  • Block trades vs dark pool prints: A block trade is about size; a dark pool print is about venue. Blocks can print on an exchange or off it, dark pool prints come in any size, and the biggest print of a day is often a closing auction.

Prediction markets

  • What do prediction markets say about the S&P 500?: Tradytics Probabilities draws it: where Kalshi and Polymarket put the S&P 500 at the next close, Friday, month end, three months and year end, as a fan over three months of candles, with jobs, CPI and Fed dates marked. Free on every plan.
  • Does Polymarket predict the stock market?: Not better than options. On S&P 500 and Nasdaq closes, Polymarket and Kalshi chances match same-day options, and daily up-or-down questions pick the right side 56% of the time. What they add is beats, the Fed and CPI. Tradytics Probabilities charts all of it.
  • How accurate are prediction markets?: Close to their stated chances. In Tradytics' study of its Kalshi and Polymarket archive, a 2% chance came true 2.6% of the time and 48% came true 48.2%; sure things failed about 1 in 15, and S&P 500 close chances match same-day options.

Options basics

  • What is the options volatility surface? Term structure and skew explained: The volatility surface plots implied volatility across every strike and expiry. Its slice by expiry is the term structure; its slice by strike is the skew, often summed up as 25-delta skew (put IV minus call IV). Tradytics draws the surface in 3D for every optionable stock.
  • What are vanna and charm exposure?: Vanna exposure is how much dealers' stock hedges must change when implied volatility moves; charm exposure is how much they change as time passes. Tradytics shows both by strike and expiry for about 2,500 stocks and ETFs, recomputed every five minutes.
  • What is 0DTE GEX (zero-day gamma exposure)?: 0DTE GEX is the gamma exposure of options that expire today: the dollars of stock dealers would trade per 1% move to stay hedged on same-day contracts. Tradytics builds it from the live tape for SPY, SPX and QQQ every 30 seconds, by strike, as change, through the day and as levels.
  • The options greeks explained: The greeks show why an option's price changes: delta for the stock, gamma for how delta shifts, theta for time and vega for implied volatility. Each explained with a real example.
  • What is delta in options?: Delta is how much an option's price moves when the stock moves $1. Calls run 0 to 1, puts 0 to -1, so a 0.50 delta call gains about $50 a contract for each $1 the stock rises.
  • What is gamma in options?: Gamma is how much an option's delta changes when the stock moves $1. It peaks for at-the-money options near expiry, which is why short-dated options swing so hard.
  • What is theta (time decay)?: Theta is how much value an option loses each day as expiry nears, with the stock and volatility unchanged. Buyers pay it, sellers collect it, and only time value decays.
  • What is vega in options?: Vega is how much an option's price moves when implied volatility changes 1 point. A vega of 0.40 means $40 a contract per point, and it is largest for long-dated, at-the-money options.
  • What is implied volatility?: Implied volatility is the size of move the options market is pricing into a stock, as a yearly percentage backed out of option prices. Higher IV means pricier options, not a direction.
  • What is IV crush?: IV crush is the sharp drop in implied volatility right after a known event like earnings. Option prices fall with it, so a buyer can be right on direction and still lose money.
  • IV rank vs IV percentile: IV rank shows where today's implied volatility sits between its one-year low and high. IV percentile shows the share of days it was lower. One spike can skew rank, not percentile.
  • What is open interest?: Open interest is the number of option contracts still open: opened and not yet closed, exercised or expired. It comes from end-of-day clearing data, so it updates once a day, overnight.
  • What do ITM, ATM and OTM mean?: ITM, ATM and OTM describe where a strike sits against the stock price. A call is in the money when the stock is above the strike, a put when it is below; at the money means at the strike.
  • What is gamma exposure (GEX)?: Gamma exposure (GEX) estimates how much stock options dealers must buy or sell to stay hedged per 1% move. Positive GEX tends to calm moves, negative GEX tends to amplify them.
  • Positive vs negative gamma: what it means for the market: In positive gamma, dealers sell rallies and buy dips, so moves tend to shrink. In negative gamma, they buy rallies and sell dips, so moves tend to grow. Neither predicts direction.
  • What is the gamma flip level?: The gamma flip is the price where estimated dealer gamma turns from positive to negative. Above it, hedging tends to damp moves; below it, hedging tends to amplify them.
  • What are call walls and put walls?: A call wall is the strike with the most positive dealer gamma, often a ceiling; a put wall is the strike with the most negative, a level traders watch for support or a faster drop.
  • How is GEX calculated, and is it accurate?: GEX = gamma × open interest × 100 × price² × 1%, calls positive and puts negative, summed over strikes. It's a fair map of where hedging sits, not an exact dollar figure.
  • Does gamma exposure actually help you trade?: Somewhat. Research finds dealer gamma nudges volatility: positive tends to calm, negative to amplify. It doesn't predict direction, and news easily swamps it. Use it as a backdrop.
  • How market makers hedge options (delta hedging): Market makers delta hedge: after trading an option, they buy or sell enough stock to cancel its delta, then keep adjusting as price moves. They aim to earn the spread, not bet on direction.
  • What is a gamma squeeze?: A gamma squeeze is a rally fed by dealer hedging: heavy short-dated call buying forces dealers to buy stock, which lifts price and forces more buying. It's rarer than people claim.
  • What is max pain, and does it work?: Max pain is the strike where expiring options would pay holders the least. It's a weak guide: on October 30, 2026, SPY closed $7.88 below its $765 max pain; none of nine big names hit theirs.
  • What is the put/call ratio, and is a high one bullish or bearish?: The put/call ratio divides put activity by call activity. A high one looks bearish, but extremes are often read as contrarian, and it can't tell bought puts from sold ones.
  • What is OPEX, and why does monthly expiration move markets?: OPEX is options expiration day. Monthly OPEX is the third Friday (next: November 20, 2026). It can move markets because a large block of options, and the dealer hedges tied to them, expire at once.
  • What is the expected move, and how is it calculated?: The expected move is the ± range options price for a stock by an expiration, usually one standard deviation: price × implied volatility × √(days ÷ 365). SPY: ±$6.93 to November 2, 2026.

Tradytics features

Market data API

Using Tradytics

  • Tradytics for AI agents: the skill, the Claude Code plugin and the MCP server: Tradytics works inside AI agents: an agent skill on skills.sh and ClawHub, a Claude Code plugin, an MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor, and the full API as a Postman collection.
  • How do I build an options trading dashboard?: Open Tradytics dashboards, open a featured dashboard from Explore (Big money, Stock desk, 0DTE desk, Earnings week) or start blank, and add any of 56 widgets: live options flow, dark pool prints, Market Net Flow, dealer exposure, Signals and more, with linked tickers. Every plan.
  • How do I see a payoff chart for options I already own?: Link your broker on Tradytics Portfolio, read only and free on every plan, then click Payoff chart on any option position: it opens in the strategy builder at what you paid, with the payoff at expiry and before it, break-evens and P&L by price and date.
  • How Tradytics Signals are built: the research behind them: Tradytics Signals come from seven options flow patterns that held up in one of the largest published studies of retail options flow: 560 million pattern and horizon combinations on 10.9 million prints over 378 sessions, joined to real bars and option quotes and kept only where they held up in both halves of the period.
  • The seven patterns behind Tradytics Signals: Tradytics Signals come from seven options flow patterns: repeat flow, opening calls, heavy calls, ETF repeat, ITM puts, call burst and index tide. When a live order matches one, the signal is to buy that same contract.
  • How the Tradytics AI Fund picks its trades: Each Tradytics AI Fund trade starts as a researched idea with a variant view and a dated catalyst; the AI portfolio manager compares its expected move with what options price, picks a defined-risk structure, sizes it by risk and writes the exit plan before it opens.
  • How Tradytics models dealer positioning: Tradytics infers dealer positions from 66 sessions of options trades tagged bought or sold, not only from open interest, and recomputes gamma, delta, vanna and charm exposure for about 2,500 stocks and ETFs every five minutes, with change over a session, week and two weeks and 18 months of history.
  • How to use the Tradytics Flow board: The Tradytics Flow board puts up to 12 net options flow charts side by side, one per stock, each with its own expiry filter, in 1 to 4 columns, refreshed every 30 seconds and saved to your account.
  • How to use the Tradytics options flow page: Open Live Options Flow, type what you want to see or filter, check net premium and the premium bars, then read each order's side chip, Vol/OI, type and tags. Plus and Pro see the full tape live; Free the previous session.
  • How to find dark pool prints and levels on Tradytics: The Darkpools page lists every dark pool block print across the market; each ticker's dark pool page ranks every print against the stock's last 12 months and marks the year's biggest levels on the chart.
  • What can you ask the Tradytics AI analyst?: Ask about any US stock, ETF or the market: flow, dark pools, dealer gamma, prices, research, news. The agent pulls the data itself, shows its steps, builds charts and cards, and reads charts you send. 3, 20 or unlimited a day.
  • How to read the Tradytics options market page: Read /options top to bottom: the summary and Market Net Flow (with convergence and momentum) for the lean, 0DTE flow and 0DTE gamma for the day's setup, then the Money map, Contracts, Sectors, hottest contracts and repeat flow.
  • How to research a stock, its options and its dark pool on Tradytics: Every US stock and ETF on Tradytics has a stock page, an options page (net flow, heatmaps, whales, volatility, dealer exposure) and a dark pool page (every print ranked against the year). Stock pages are on every plan; options and dark pool pages on Plus and Pro.
  • How the Tradytics scanner works: The Tradytics scanner runs every US stock and ETF through 120 signals, from technicals and fundamentals to options flow and dark pools. It updates after the close at 4:05, 6:05 and 8:10 PM ET, on every plan.
  • How to link your broker and track your portfolio on Tradytics: Open Portfolio, click Connect a brokerage and sign in at your broker. The read-only link is free on every plan and shows your holdings, a year of round-trip trades and your P&L.
  • Is your portfolio beating the market or just riding it? Tradytics factors explained: Excess return tells you if you beat the S&P 500; market sensitivity tells you how much you just rode it. Tradytics Factors (Plus and Pro) shows both and where your return came from.
  • How your portfolio compares with the market: Tradytics versus: Tradytics Versus (Plus and Pro) puts your portfolio's weighted average on 28 metrics, from P/E and margins to options and dark pool activity, beside the US market and a typical stock.
  • How to use Payoff, the Tradytics options strategy builder: Open Payoff (the options strategy builder), search a ticker, then pick an outlook or tap the live chain to add legs. You get max profit, max loss, breakeven, chance of profit and P&L by price and date. Free on all plans.
  • How to use Tradytics charts: Open Charts, search a symbol, pick a timeframe from 1 second to monthly, and add indicators from the library, including options flow, dealer gamma levels and dark pool levels. Up to four charts at once. Charts are on every plan.
  • The Tradytics API and MCP server: every dataset in your code, Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor: Tradytics Pro ($69 a month) includes a REST API (300 calls a minute, 50,000 a day) and an MCP server over every dataset for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor, over options flow since March 2025, ranked dark pool, dealer exposure, Probabilities, Signals, the AI Fund and more.

About Tradytics

  • What is the Tradytics AI Fund?: The Tradytics AI Fund is a long/short options fund managed entirely by AI agents, run on fundamental analysis and dated catalysts, with every idea, trade, exit, lesson and weekly letter published at /fund.
  • What is Tradytics?: Tradytics is an options and dark pool analytics platform for active traders, built since 2020: the full OPRA tape live, a five-minute dealer model for about 2,500 stocks, ranked dark pool prints and an AI analyst, from $0.
  • How much does Tradytics cost?: Tradytics has three plans: Free ($0), Plus ($39 a month or $299 a year) and Pro ($69 a month or $499 a year). No trial, no contract; cancel anytime and keep access to the end of the period.
  • What does the Tradytics free plan include?: The Tradytics Free plan is $0 with no card: the previous session's options flow and dark pool prints, charts, scanner, gamma, stock research, 3 AI questions a day, Signals a day late, your portfolio and the AI Fund.
  • Is Tradytics legit?: Yes. Tradytics has been built since July 2020, reads the full OPRA options tape and FINRA-reported dark pool prints, and publishes every AI Fund trade and every signal's result. Self-serve billing, Free plan.
  • Is Tradytics worth it?: Yes for active options traders: $39 a month for the full options tape live, a five-minute dealer model, ranked dark pool prints, research, a 120-signal scanner and an AI analyst. Free covers the previous session.
  • Where does Tradytics get its data, and is it real time?: Tradytics reads the full OPRA options tape, every trade on every US options exchange, live on Plus and Pro. Dealer exposure is modeled from the flow every five minutes, and every dark pool block print is ranked against the stock's year.
  • How to cancel your Tradytics subscription: To cancel Tradytics, open the profile menu, choose Plan and billing, click Cancel plan and confirm. You keep your plan until the end of the period you paid for, then move to Free. No contract.
  • How many AI questions do you get on Tradytics?: The Tradytics AI analyst gives you 3 questions a day on Free, 20 a day on Plus ($39 a month) and unlimited on Pro ($69 a month). Limits reset at midnight New York time.
  • Does Tradytics have a free trial?: No. Tradytics has no trial; the Free plan is the trial. It is $0, needs no card and never expires: the previous session's flow and dark pool prints, charts, scanner, gamma, stock research and 3 AI questions a day.
  • Does Tradytics have a Discord?: Yes. Tradytics bots post repeat flow, Signals, sweeps, dark pool prints and more into Discord servers, and /ask brings the AI analyst into any server. The bots plan is $199 a month with Pro included.
  • How to upgrade, downgrade or change your Tradytics plan: Open the profile menu, choose Plan and billing, then Change plan and pick Plus or Pro, monthly or yearly. Changes start now and what's left of your period comes off the new price. To drop to Free, cancel.
  • Who writes Tradytics Learn, and how we check it: Faizan Ahmad, the CTO of Tradytics, writes and checks every Learn and Compare page with the team, against Tradytics data and primary sources, with real dated examples. Educational, not investment advice.