# Positive vs negative gamma

What positive and negative gamma mean for price, and how to read the regime badge.

The regime tells you which kind of market you are trading in right now.

## Above the gamma flip: positive gamma

Dealer hedging trades against the move. Expect mean reversion, smaller ranges,
pins, and walls that hold more often. Fading moves into the walls tends to
work.

## Below the gamma flip: negative gamma

Dealer hedging trades with the move. Expect trend days, faster expansion and
walls that break more easily. Fading is riskier; trade the breakout.

## A real example

![NQ Candles widget on Oct 16, 2026: walls breaking in negative gamma](https://q-bitf.com/docs-img/candles-negative-gamma.png "NQ, Oct 16, 2026 (Replay). In STRONG NEGATIVE gamma the 29,910 put wall broke at about 9:55 ET and the wall kept moving lower with price. Walk-through in the [Candles widget guide](https://q-bitf.com/docs/widgets/candles).")

## The regime badge

The badge combines the side (**POSITIVE** or **NEGATIVE**) with how one-sided
the book is:

| Strength | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **STRONG** | The book is lopsided. Levels should act decisively. |
| **MODERATE** | A normal reading. |
| **BALANCED** | Calls and puts roughly offset. Pins are soft: halve size and wait for confirmation. |

## When the flip and HVL disagree

The flip follows the day-trade expiry and the HVL follows the whole book.
When price sits between them, the two readings disagree, and that zone tends
to be choppy and low-conviction.

> **Note:** The regime describes hedging pressure, not direction. A positive
> regime can still trend; it just tends to need more to do it.

## Questions

### What is negative gamma?

A market state where options dealers are short gamma, so their hedging buys strength and sells weakness. Moves tend to extend and ranges widen.

### What is positive gamma?

A market state where dealers are long gamma, so their hedging sells strength and buys weakness. Moves tend to stall and price mean-reverts.