START HERE6 min
How to read an options flow print
Time, strike, expiry, spot and premium — what each column on the tape actually tells you about a trade.
Coming soonRESOURCES
LEARN TO READ THE TAPE
Short, plain-English guides that take you from "what is a sweep" to trading alongside institutional positioning.
GUIDES
FUNDAMENTALS5 min
Sweeps vs blocks vs splits
Why a sweep signals urgency, a block signals negotiation, and how golden sweeps differ from both.
Coming soonFUNDAMENTALS4 min
Premium skew and what it means
Call premium versus put premium is a better sentiment read than raw contract counts. Here's why.
Coming soonSTRATEGY8 min
Following flow without chasing it
Position sizing, confirmation and knowing when a big print is a hedge, not a bet.
Coming soonSTRATEGY5 min
Building an alert set that works
Premium thresholds, watchlist scoping and the filters that keep your feed usable all session.
Coming soonADVANCED7 min
Reading the flow heatmap
Turning a grid of tiles into a read on where capital is rotating during the session.
Coming soonGLOSSARY
- PREMIUM
- Total dollars paid for the contracts in a print. The size of the bet.
- SWEEP
- An order split across exchanges to fill fast — usually an urgent, directional buyer.
- BLOCK
- A single large negotiated trade, often institutional and sometimes a hedge.
- GOLDEN SWEEP
- An unusually large sweep, the highest-conviction print class on the tape.
- SPOT
- The underlying stock price at the moment the option traded.
- STRIKE
- The price at which the option can be exercised.
- OPEN INTEREST
- Contracts still outstanding — rising OI suggests new positioning, not closing.
- SKEW
- The tilt of call premium versus put premium across a symbol or the whole market.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
The live terminal is the best classroom — watch real prints land while the concepts are fresh.