# Flow and tape

Options flow, the live tape, order flow, skew and drift, and the scanner.

Positioning is what is already there. Flow is what is trading today.

## Options flow

For any ticker, today's options activity classified by side:

- **Net premium**: bullish premium minus bearish premium. A call bought is
  bullish, a call sold is bearish, and a put sold is bullish too.
- **Put/call ratios** for today's volume and for the standing book. Volume
  running well above the standing ratio means fresh positioning is building.
- **Flow against the book, per strike**: today's activity next to the
  existing positioning, tagged **reinforcing** (the wall is hardening) or
  **fighting** (the wall is being eaten and more likely to fail).
- **0DTE flow**: the same read for today's expiry only.

## Live flow

A streaming tape of individual options prints with premium, size and strike,
the largest prints of the day and a per-strike summary. An unusually large
print far from price, or in a quiet expiry, is worth a second look. Check it
against the regime and the walls before treating it as a signal.

## Order flow

Bid and ask aggression and cumulative delta from the futures tape.

## Skew and drift

- **Net drift**: running call dollars against put dollars traded today.
  Sustained put dollars while price falls corroborates the move; while price
  holds or rises, it is more likely hedging.
- **Net flow**: the same as bursts per interval. Useful for spotting a fresh
  wave, or flow drying up before a turn.
- **Volatility skew**: how puts and calls are priced around spot.

## Scanner

Unusual options activity across a watchlist or the wider market, plus trade
ideas ranked by a composite score. Backtests use modelled prices, not real
fills.