Dealer Exposure (GEX / VEX)
Map the strikes where market-maker hedging pulls price toward — or away from — a level.
Dealer exposure measures how options market makers are positioned and therefore how they must hedge as price moves. Pushing Profits maps gamma exposure (GEX) and vanna exposure (VEX) by strike so you can see the levels likely to act as magnets or accelerants — where hedging flows tend to pin price, cushion a dip, or speed up a move.
What is the Dealer Exposure (GEX/VEX)?
When you buy or sell an option, a market maker takes the other side and hedges in the underlying. The size and sign of their aggregate gamma determines whether their hedging dampens moves (positive gamma, mean-reverting) or amplifies them (negative gamma, trend-accelerating).
Our dealer exposure map aggregates open interest into a gamma and vanna profile across strikes. High-gamma strikes often behave like magnets into expiration; the flip from positive to negative gamma is a level where market character can change.
It's built from live options chain data, so the profile updates as positioning shifts — useful context layered on top of your own price levels, not a standalone signal.
How to read it
- Gamma walls: Strikes with large gamma act like magnets or barriers — price often gravitates to or stalls at them, especially near expiration.
- Gamma flip: The level where aggregate dealer gamma flips sign. Above it, moves tend to be dampened; below it, moves tend to accelerate.
- Vanna exposure: How dealer hedging shifts as implied volatility changes — helpful around volatility expansions and contractions.
- Profile shape: Whether exposure is concentrated at a few strikes or spread out, which tells you how 'sticky' nearby levels are likely to be.
Use cases
- Find magnet levels: Identify high-gamma strikes price may be drawn toward into the close or into expiration.
- Gauge regime: Know whether you're above or below the gamma flip so you can expect mean-reversion vs trend behavior.
- Frame risk: Place stops and targets with awareness of where hedging flows could cushion or accelerate a move.
Frequently asked questions
What is gamma exposure (GEX)?
It's the aggregate gamma position of options dealers. Positive GEX means their hedging tends to dampen moves; negative GEX means it tends to accelerate them.
What is the gamma flip?
The price level where total dealer gamma flips from positive to negative. It often marks a change in market character from mean-reverting to trending.
Is dealer exposure a buy/sell signal on its own?
No. It's context about where hedging flows concentrate. Traders combine it with price action and flow, not as a standalone signal.
How current is the data?
It's derived from live options chain open interest and updates as positioning changes through the session.