02 / Concepts · Key levels
Key levels
Call and put walls, the gamma flip, HVL, the expected move and the day range.
Every symbol gets the same set of named levels. They appear on the Dashboard, the Live Chart, the TradingView extension, MotiveWave, Discord and the MCP server, and they are always the same numbers.
The levels#
| Level | What it marks | How it tends to behave |
|---|---|---|
| Call wall | The strike above price with the heaviest call positioning | A ceiling when the regime is calm |
| Put wall | The strike below price with the heaviest put positioning | A floor when the regime is calm |
| Call / put wall 2, 3... | The next-strongest strikes on each side | The next target beyond a broken wall, or the next line of defence |
| Gamma flip | Where the dealer book turns from long to short gamma for the day-trade expiry | The single most important line: see Gamma regime |
| HVL | The same turning point across the whole book | A slower regime line. Between it and the flip, expect chop |
| Upper / lower 1σ | The expected move for the rest of today | Narrows as the session runs out |
| 1D max / min | A projected outer band for the day | Trading beyond it means the day has outrun what options priced in |
| Abs Gamma | The strike with the most gamma overall: the pin price tends to gravitate to into expiry | Strongest on expiry days |
| Max pain | The strike where expiring options would pay out the least | A pull into expiration. See Max pain |
| EOD walls | The walls frozen at the prior close | Context for where positioning started the day |
Some views add more: dedicated 0DTE walls, day walls, the hedge wall, the straddle band and the optional session ceiling and floor.
Strength#
Walls are ranked strongest to weakest. On charts the strongest lines are thick and bold and the weaker ones thin and faint. Some views show a quality badge:
- STRONG: real weight behind the wall, close enough to matter.
- MODERATE: worth respecting, less likely to hold on its own.
- WEAK: information, not a trade.
Tags#
| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
EOD | Set once per day and frozen: the stable set |
0DTE | Today's-expiry levels, refreshed through the session |
Intra | Live levels on days when the nearest expiry is not today |
A live wall only moves when another strike becomes meaningfully stronger, so it does not flicker on noise.
Using them#
- Mark the walls and the flip before the open.
- Check the regime: above the flip, fades into the walls work more often; below it, respect breakouts.
- Look for confluence with your own levels (VWAP, prior-day high or low).
- Watch whether a wall stays put while price tests it, or moves with price.
Go deeper#
What positive and negative gamma mean for price, and how to read the regime badge.
Which expiries the levels cover, and why they move during the day.
The level ladder, the regime, the trade plan and the live gamma chart.