Trading Glossary
The concepts behind every QuantaEdge signal — defined in plain English, with how we actually use each one.
GEX (Gamma Exposure)
The aggregate of dealer option-hedging pressure across the entire options open interest. Positive GEX dampens moves (dealers sell rallies, buy dips); negative GEX amplifies them.
At QuantaEdge: GEX is a secondary filter after regime. High positive GEX favours range-bound iron condors; a break below the gamma-flip level into negative GEX gives momentum strategies a tailwind.
Read: GEX explained →Gamma Flip
The underlying price at which aggregate dealer gamma flips from positive to negative. Above it, moves tend to dampen; below it, they accelerate.
At QuantaEdge: We track the SPX/SPY/QQQ gamma flip every 30 minutes to classify whether we are in a pinning or trending structure before sizing a trade.
Put Wall / Call Wall
The strikes with the highest put (support) and call (resistance) open interest.
At QuantaEdge: Directional and iron-condor strikes are checked against the nearest walls — our studies found walls did not hold as support or resistance, so we report them as data, not trade levels.
Market Regime
A classification of the current market environment: trending up, trending down, high-VIX catalyst, or choppy. Each regime has a different risk profile.
At QuantaEdge: Simulated strategies are gated by regime and sized by a regime multiplier (full / half / quarter), and we require 70% confidence before declaring a regime change. Our tests found regime gating did not add an edge.
Read: regime detection →CVD (Cumulative Volume Delta)
The running sum of buy-initiated minus sell-initiated volume, built from tick data. It reveals whether buyers or sellers are in control beneath the price.
At QuantaEdge: CVD-dependent futures strategies require fresh tick CVD before trading; divergence between price and CVD is a core entry/exit cue for our NQ/MNQ models.
Delta Divergence
When price makes a new high or low but order-flow delta (CVD) fails to confirm it — a sign the move is losing participation.
At QuantaEdge: A divergence against the prevailing move is a high-probability fade or exit trigger in our orderflow-driven futures plugins.
FVG (Fair Value Gap)
A three-candle imbalance where price moved so fast it left an untraded gap. Markets often return to "fill" these zones.
At QuantaEdge: FVGs define high-probability entry zones and targets in our ICT/SMC-style NQ futures strategy.
Read: NQ momentum / ICT →Kill Zone
A specific intraday window (e.g. the New York open) often described as the window where order flow concentrates.
At QuantaEdge: Some of our intraday futures models arm entries only inside defined kill zones; our research found kill-zone timing added nothing on its own.
Unusual Options Flow
Large, aggressive, or out-of-the-ordinary options orders, often described as informed positioning. Our studies found flow did not predict direction at any horizon we tested.
At QuantaEdge: Our scanner measures premium-weighted net flow (not raw volume) as research data.
Read: unusual flow guide →Iron Condor
A defined-risk options strategy that sells an out-of-the-money put spread and call spread, profiting when the underlying stays in a range while time decay erodes the sold options.
At QuantaEdge: Our primary premium-collection structure, deployed when positive GEX and a choppy/range regime make pinning likely.
Read: iron condor explained →0DTE / 1DTE
Zero / one days-to-expiration options. Extremely sensitive to time decay and gamma, traded the same day or one day before expiry.
At QuantaEdge: We run defined-risk 0DTE/1DTE SPX structures with hard P&L clamps so a chain-data gap can never book an impossible loss.
Credit Spread
Selling one option and buying a further-OTM option of the same type, collecting net credit. Maximum loss is capped at the strike width minus credit.
At QuantaEdge: Bull-put and bear-call spreads are core directional-income tools; risk is always defined by the spread width.
Implied Volatility (IV) Rank
Where current implied volatility sits within its trailing range (0–100%). High IV rank means options are richly priced relative to history.
At QuantaEdge: Premium-selling strategies want elevated IV rank; we read it live and gate entries on it.
Prop Firm
A proprietary trading firm (e.g. TopStep, Apex) that funds traders who pass an evaluation, subject to strict risk rules.
At QuantaEdge: Defined here for reference. QuantaEdge does not provide trade signals for funded accounts.
Trailing Drawdown
A prop-firm rule where your maximum-loss threshold trails your account’s highest balance, tightening as you profit.
At QuantaEdge: Defined here for reference.
Paper Trading
Trading with simulated capital against live market data — real prices, no real money at risk.
At QuantaEdge: Our entire published record is simulated paper trading, marked against live market data — no real capital and no broker fills.
Read: our paper-trading method →