The Complete Pro Guide: Strategies, Options Vocabulary and the Builder

What Pro unlocks

Pro removes the demo layer. You get live gamma exposure for every listed ticker (SPX, SPY, QQQ, single names and /ES, /NQ futures), real Call Wall, Put Wall, Magnet and Gamma Flip levels, the Active Signals panel with proximity alerts, unlimited Strategy Builder positions with real P&L, the Optimizer, DTE playbooks, and the Pro-tier guides and quizzes.

• Gamma Exposure Map with live levels and BUY / SELL / HOLD signals.
• Strategy Builder hand-off from any signal, pre-loaded with strikes and lots.
• Optimizer and DOE Lab runs with monthly allowance.
• AI quant reports on support/resistance aligned to dealer positioning.

Options vocabulary you must know

Options language is short-hand. Each term below is used on every screen of the app; learn them before anything else.

• Call / Put — the right to buy (call) or sell (put) 100 shares at the strike before expiration.
• Strike — the price the contract settles against. Strikes near the current price are 'at the money' (ATM); calls above and puts below spot are 'out of the money' (OTM).
• Expiration and DTE — the last trading day, expressed as Days To Expiration. 0DTE expires today.
• Premium — the price of the option. Buyers pay it (debit), sellers collect it (credit).
• Delta — dollars gained per $1 move in the underlying; also a rough probability of finishing in the money.
• Gamma — how fast delta changes. Long options are long gamma, short options are short gamma.
• Theta — daily time decay. Works against buyers, for sellers.
• Vega — sensitivity to implied volatility (IV). IV rising helps buyers, falling helps sellers.
• Implied volatility (IV) — the market's expected move, annualised. High IV = expensive options.
• Breakeven — the underlying price at expiration where the position makes exactly $0.
• Max profit / Max loss — the best and worst outcomes at expiration; defined-risk spreads cap both.
• Lots — number of contracts. One lot controls 100 shares (or one futures contract).

Gamma vocabulary — the four levels

IndustrialGamma reduces the whole options board to four prices. Every signal, every Builder hand-off and every alert references them.

• Call Wall (CW) — the strike with the largest positive call gamma. Acts as resistance; rallies slow into it.
• Put Wall (PW) — the strike with the largest put gamma. Acts as support; sell-offs slow into it.
• Magnet (MAG) — the strike inside the walls where dealer hedging pins price. Expect mean reversion toward it in positive regimes.
• Gamma Flip (FLIP) — the price where net dealer gamma crosses zero. Above it dealers dampen moves (positive gamma, range-bound); below it they amplify moves (negative gamma, trending).
• Net GEX — total dealer gamma in dollars per 1% move. Positive = range regime, negative = trend regime.

Strategy 1 — Long Call / Long Put (directional, defined risk)

Buy a single option in the direction of the signal. Use it when the app fires BUY at the Put Wall or SELL at the Call Wall in a positive regime and you expect a fast move toward the Magnet. Risk is the premium paid; reward is open-ended. Best with 7–30 DTE when IV is low.

• Entry: strike at or one step past the level the signal names.
• Exit: target the Magnet or the opposite wall; cut if price closes through your level.
• Avoid when IV is elevated — you overpay and IV crush eats the move.

Strategy 2 — Bull Call Spread / Bear Put Spread (verticals)

Buy one option and sell a further OTM one of the same type and expiration. This is the default structure the Builder loads for BUY (Bull Call Spread anchored at the Put Wall) and SELL (Bear Put Spread anchored at the Call Wall). The short leg funds part of the long leg, lowering cost and breakeven at the price of a capped profit.

• Width: set the short strike at the next level (Magnet or opposite wall) — that is where you expect the move to stall anyway.
• Risk = debit paid; max profit = width − debit.
• Works in both regimes; in negative regimes widen the spread because moves overshoot.

Strategy 3 — Iron Condor (range, credit)

Sell an OTM put spread and an OTM call spread around the Magnet. This is the HOLD signal's structure: price is between the walls in a positive gamma regime, dealers are dampening moves, and you get paid for the market staying inside the range. The Builder centres the condor on the Magnet with the short strikes near the walls.

• Only in positive regimes (Net GEX > 0). A negative regime is exactly when condors get run over.
• Short strikes just inside the Call Wall and Put Wall; wings 1–2 strikes wider.
• Take profit at 50% of the credit; exit early if price crosses the Gamma Flip.

Strategy 4 — Long Straddle / Strangle (breakout, negative gamma)

Buy both a call and a put. Use when price sits near the Gamma Flip in a negative regime and a CAUTION signal shows: dealers will amplify whichever direction breaks. Cost is high, so keep DTE short (0–5) and size small.

• Straddle = both legs ATM; strangle = both legs OTM (cheaper, needs a bigger move).
• Exit the losing leg once direction is clear and manage the winner toward the next wall.

Matching strategy to regime — the cheat sheet

The Active Signals panel already applies this table; knowing it lets you judge when to override.

• Positive gamma, price at Put Wall → BUY → Long Call or Bull Call Spread toward Magnet.
• Positive gamma, price at Call Wall → SELL → Long Put or Bear Put Spread toward Magnet.
• Positive gamma, price mid-range → HOLD → Iron Condor centred on Magnet.
• Negative gamma, breakout above Call Wall → BUY → Long Call (momentum), wider verticals.
• Negative gamma, breakdown below Put Wall → SELL → Long Put (momentum).
• Negative gamma, between walls → CAUTION → stand aside or small straddle at the Flip.

Using the Strategy Builder — step by step

The Builder turns a level into a fully priced position. Follow these steps for the first ten trades until it is muscle memory.

• 1. Start from a signal. On the Gamma page click 'View Strategy in Builder' — the Builder opens with the ticker, preset, anchor strike and lots already set. Or open /build directly and choose the ticker.
• 2. Check the underlying chart. The top panel shows live price with RSI, MACD, TTM Squeeze and support/resistance; confirm the technicals do not contradict the gamma signal.
• 3. Review the legs. Each row is one leg: type (call/put), side (buy/sell), strike, expiration, quantity. Change a strike by editing the field; adding a leg lets you convert a long call into a spread.
• 4. Read the payoff chart. The green/red area is P&L at expiration; the dotted line is P&L today. Breakevens are marked where the curve crosses zero.
• 5. Read the summary cards: Max Profit, Max Loss, Breakeven(s), Net Debit/Credit, Probability of Profit and the Greeks of the whole position.
• 6. Size it. Set lots so Max Loss is at most 1–2% of your account; the Risk Manager link converts that for you.
• 7. Save the position. It goes to your portfolio where the app tracks P&L and alerts you when price approaches your strikes or a key level.
• 8. Run it through the Optimizer if you are unsure of the structure — it compares POP, return on risk and max loss for alternatives at the same level.

Reading the Builder's numbers correctly

Three things trip new users up. Prices are per share; multiply by 100 for dollars per contract (the summary cards already do this). 'P&L today' uses Black-Scholes with current IV, so it moves as IV changes even when price does not. Probability of Profit assumes you hold to expiration — closing early at 50% of max profit changes the realised statistics.

A first-week routine

Day 1: read this guide and the Gamma Exposure Map guide, run three paper trades in the Builder. Days 2–3: follow SPX and one single name; note where price actually reacts to the walls. Days 4–5: take one signal per day at minimum size with a defined-risk spread. End of week: review the signal history panel and your journal — did the regime call the behaviour correctly?

Practice this in the terminal

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