GLOSSARY · THE DESK'S VOCABULARY
SPX 0DTE and options trading, defined.
Every term you will hear in the daily plan, the live sessions and the recaps — defined in a paragraph, with links to the article or tool where it matters.
- Backtest Acceptance
- After reclaiming a level, price dips back to it from above, finds no sellers and bounces. Repeated holds confirm supply is exhausted and give a lower-risk entry.
- Block Trade
- A large option order negotiated and printed on a single exchange, often institutional and less urgent than a sweep.
- Call Wall
- The strike with the largest positive call gamma. Acts as a magnet and resistance as dealers sell into rallies toward it.
- Daily Loss Limit
- A pre-set maximum loss for the session. Once hit, trading stops for the day. The desk's first rule of capital preservation.
- Elevator Down
- A sequence of vertical red candles where supports fail in quick succession and stops are taken out. Often the precursor to a Failed Breakdown.
- EOD Recap
- The post-market review of what the plan called for, what price did, and the lesson — published after the close. PLAN + RECAP ARCHIVE
- ES Futures (ES_F)
- The CME E-mini S&P 500 futures contract. Trades nearly 24 hours, so overnight highs and lows become key levels for the SPX cash session. WEEKLY PLAYBOOK
- Expectancy
- The average amount a system makes per trade: (win rate × average win) − (loss rate × average loss). Positive expectancy over a large sample is the definition of an edge. PUBLIC SCORECARDS
- Failed Breakdown (FBD)
- Price flushes below a significant low, grabs the stops resting beneath it, traps shorts and recovers back above the level. The desk's core setup; entry comes only after the reclaim is confirmed.
- Gamma Exposure (GEX)
- An estimate of how much option dealers must hedge for a given move in the underlying, aggregated by strike. Positive GEX dampens moves; negative GEX amplifies them. DEALER BEHAVIOR IN GAMMA REGIMES
- Golden Sweep
- An unusually large sweep — typically over $1 million in premium — filled aggressively across exchanges.
- Level to Level
- Executing from one pre-identified support or resistance level to the next, taking profit at each, rather than holding for a directional target.
- Megaphone Pattern
- A broadening formation with higher highs and lower lows. The desk trades breakouts from flags, triangles and megaphones only once the pattern is mature.
- Negative Gamma
- Dealers hedge with the move — buying strength and selling weakness — so volatility expands and breakouts follow through. The 'fuel' regime. DEALER BEHAVIOR IN GAMMA REGIMES
- Non-Acceptance
- A fast-market reversal where price rockets back above a flushed low with no pause. The entry trigger is a clean push roughly five points above the significant low.
- Open Interest (OI)
- The number of option contracts outstanding at a strike. Volume far above open interest suggests new positions are being opened.
- Options Flow
- The real-time tape of large option orders — sweeps, blocks and unusual prints — used by the desk as context, never as the trigger.
- Pinning
- Price gravitating toward a strike with heavy open interest into expiry as dealer hedging flows neutralise moves. Common in positive gamma on 0DTE.
- Positive Gamma
- Dealers hedge against the move — selling rallies and buying dips — so volatility stays contained and price tends to mean-revert. The 'shock absorber' regime. DEALER BEHAVIOR IN GAMMA REGIMES
- Pre-Market Plan
- The desk's published levels, scenarios and invalidation points, released before 9:15 AM ET each session. PLAN + RECAP ARCHIVE
- Put Wall
- The strike with the largest negative put gamma. Often acts as support — and as an accelerant if it breaks.
- Revenge Trading
- Re-entering the same market to win back a loss out of frustration rather than a setup. One of the fastest ways to turn a small red day into a large one. RULES FOR HANDLING LOSSES
- Risk/Reward Ratio
- Potential gain relative to the amount risked, defined by entry, stop and target. A 1:3 ratio risks $1 to make $3. WIN RATE, R/R & EXPECTANCY
- Runner
- The small final portion of a position left on with a trailing stop to capture an extended trend move without predicting it.
- Scale-Out
- Exiting a position in parts at successive targets — for example 75% at the first level, 15% at the second, trailing the remainder — to lock in gains while keeping a runner.
- Shelf / Cluster of Lows
- Several candles bottoming at the same level. The more times it is tested, the more stops stack below — and the higher the risk it finally breaks.
- Short Squeeze
- Trapped short sellers are forced to buy back positions as price rises, accelerating the move. On SPX, squeezes typically follow a confirmed Failed Breakdown.
- Significant Low
- A low that matters structurally: the prior day's low, a multi-hour low, or a shelf of several candle lows at the same price. Stops cluster below it, which is the fuel for a Failed Breakdown.
- SPX 0DTE
- S&P 500 index options that expire the same day they are traded. Cash-settled, European-style, with extreme time decay — the desk's primary instrument, traded level to level against a published plan. DESK METHODOLOGY
- Sweep
- A single large order split across multiple exchanges and filled aggressively at the ask (or bid), signalling urgency from the buyer or seller.
- Win Rate
- The percentage of trades closed at a profit. Meaningful only alongside average win and average loss — a 70% win rate can still lose money. WIN RATE, R/R & EXPECTANCY
- Zero Gamma (Gamma Flip)
- The price level where aggregate dealer gamma crosses from positive to negative. Above it markets tend to pin and chop; below it moves tend to accelerate.
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Hear these terms used live, every session
Pre-market plan before 9:15 AM ET, live opening and closing sessions, EOD recap and a trade log scored weekly in public.