Gamma Pressure: Understanding the Greek Flow Score

What is Gamma Pressure?

Dealer hedging is driven by more than just gamma. As implied volatility changes throughout the day (Vanna flows) and as time passes (Charm flows), dealers must continuously rehedge their entire book — not because price moved, but because the Greeks of their options positions changed. These mechanical rehedging flows can be substantial and can push price in a consistent direction even without a fundamental driver.

Gamma Pressure captures all three of these flows simultaneously and combines them into a single directional score from 1 to 10, where 1 is maximum mechanical selling, the middle is neutral, and 10 is maximum mechanical buying. When the score hits 10 — or 1 — all three arrows point the same way: three independent mechanical forces, each driven by a different Greek, all pushing price the same direction at once. This is a powerful structural confluence that operates independently of news, sentiment, or technical levels.

The Three Greeks: Gamma, Vanna, Charm

Gamma (Γ) — The primary hedging flow. When dealers are long gamma (the standard Long Gamma regime), they buy dips and sell rips to stay delta-neutral. This dampens volatility and creates mean-reverting behavior. When dealers are short gamma, they amplify moves. This is the main GEX regime driver that the rest of the dashboard is built around.

Vanna (dΔ/dIV) — Sensitivity of dealer delta to implied volatility changes. When IV drops (common on green, trending-up days), dealers who are short vanna must buy the underlying to rehedge — a mechanical buying flow that accompanies IV compression. When IV spikes, the opposite occurs: vanna flows become a selling pressure as dealers rehedge in the other direction. Vanna flows can be large on days with significant IV moves, particularly around major macro events or sharp market reactions.

Charm (dΔ/dTime) — Sensitivity of delta to time decay. As options approach expiration, their delta changes continuously due to time decay, even without any price movement. Dealers must rehedge this delta drift daily. The charm flow is a directional force purely from time passing — entirely mechanical, completely independent of news or price action. Charm flows are strongest approaching OPEX (when options are near expiration and charm is highest) and on 0DTE-heavy days when the time decay of expiring contracts creates the largest delta drift per hour.

Reading the Score (1–10)

The score is a direction, not a magnitude. It runs from 1 (mechanics pushing down as hard as they can) through the middle (mechanics cancelling out) to 10 (mechanics pushing up as hard as they can). The label the panel prints next to it follows the same scale:

• 1–4: BEARISH PRESSURE — the three flows net out to mechanical selling. 1 is the strongest reading the panel can give: all three greeks bearish at once. 4 is the mildest — one unit of net selling pressure. A low number is not a weak signal; it is a bearish signal.
• 6: NEUTRAL — the flows cancel out. Either all three are neutral, or they contradict each other and net to zero. This is the reading that means "no mechanical direction — lean on the GEX levels instead".
• 7–10: BULLISH PRESSURE — the flows net out to mechanical buying. 7 is the mildest, 10 is all three greeks bullish at once — the strongest bullish reading available.

So the middle of the scale is the quiet reading, and both ends are loud. Distance from the middle tells you how strong the mechanics are; which side of the middle tells you which way they push. A 2 and a 9 are both strong readings — pointing opposite ways.

Gamma counts double. Vanna and Charm carry one unit each, Gamma carries two, so Gamma alone can move the score off neutral while Vanna and Charm together can only match it. Because of how the weighting maps onto the 1–10 range, a score of 5 never appears — neutral surfaces as 6.

Directional Arrows

Each of the three greeks has its own directional arrow alongside the composite score:

• ↑ (bullish/buying pressure) — this greek's hedging flow is mechanically buying the underlying. Gamma ↑ = Long Gamma (dealers buy dips). Vanna ↑ = IV compression (dealers buy on vol decline). Charm ↑ = time decay creating upward delta drift (dealers buy to rehedge).
• ↓ (bearish/selling pressure) — this greek's flow is mechanically selling. Gamma ↓ = Short Gamma (dealers sell dips). Vanna ↓ = IV expansion (dealers sell as vol rises). Charm ↓ = time decay creating downward delta drift.

All three ↑ — that is a 10, exactly. Maximum bullish mechanical pressure: three independent mathematical forces all mechanically buying, a strong structural tailwind from dealer rehedging. The mirror image is a 1: all three ↓, maximum mechanical selling. These two readings are the only ones where the arrows are unanimous — any other score means at least one greek disagrees or is neutral.

Mixed arrows: Conflicting flows. For example, Gamma ↑ but Charm ↓ means gamma flows are bullish while time decay creates selling pressure from Charm rehedging. They partially offset, and the score lands closer to the middle than either component alone would suggest — which is exactly what a reading near 6 is telling you.

The two highest-conviction setups are the extremes: 10 with all arrows ↑ for a mechanical tailwind, 1 with all arrows ↓ for a mechanical headwind.

Using Pressure in Practice

Gamma Pressure functions as a confirmation layer, not an initiation signal. Use it to increase or decrease confidence in directional trades rather than as a standalone signal:

Bullish trade, score 9 or 10: the mechanics are at your back. Structural wind helping the trade — worth adding conviction relative to a reading nearer the middle.

Bullish trade, score 3: read this carefully, because it is the reading people get wrong. A 3 is not "weak mechanics" or a missing signal — a 3 is BEARISH PRESSURE, and the panel labels it as such. The mechanics are actively pushing against your trade. That doesn't make the trade wrong; it means you're leaning on price action, levels or thesis while the dealer rehedging flow works the other way. Size accordingly.

Bullish trade, score 6: this is the "no mechanical help either way" reading. Neutral. Lean on the GEX levels instead.

The three scenarios where Gamma Pressure adds most value:

1. OPEX weeks — Charm flows are at their maximum during OPEX week as all monthly contracts approach expiration simultaneously. The Charm direction on OPEX week can create sustained buying or selling pressure across the entire week that technical analysis alone cannot explain.
2. Days with large IV moves — Vanna becomes the dominant flow on days when implied volatility makes large moves. A 2-point drop in VIX triggers substantial Vanna buying; a 2-point VIX spike triggers the opposite. The Vanna arrow on high-vol-move days is the most actionable signal in the panel.
3. Mornings after gap-and-go setups — all three greeks may align in the gap direction as the market opens, creating a mechanical momentum that extends the gap rather than filling it. Gamma Pressure score can help distinguish mechanical gap-extends from structural gap-fills.