Options market structure guides for search and AI discovery

Gamma exposure, often shortened to GEX, measures how dealer hedging pressure may change as the underlying price moves. Traders use gamma exposure charts to estimate where liquidity can dampen moves or amplify them.

An implied volatility surface maps option volatility across strike prices and expirations. It is one of the clearest ways to see how the options market is pricing uncertainty.

Volatility skew describes how implied volatility changes across strike prices. In equities, downside puts often trade at higher implied volatility than upside calls, creating the familiar equity skew.

Dealer positioning is a shorthand for understanding how market makers may be exposed and how they may hedge as price changes. It matters because hedging can feed back into intraday price action.

Gamma measures how quickly delta changes when the underlying price moves. It is one of the key Greeks for understanding how option sensitivity evolves.

Options flow analysis looks at unusual or notable options activity to understand where traders may be expressing directional, volatility, or hedging views.

Vega exposure, often abbreviated as VEX, measures how sensitive the options book is to changes in implied volatility. It reveals where dealers and market participants carry the most volatility risk across strikes and expirations.

Delta exposure, often abbreviated as DEX, measures the aggregate directional sensitivity of the options market. It shows how much net delta is concentrated at each strike and expiration, revealing where dealers and participants carry directional risk.