Reading dealer positioning means answering one question: are dealers set up to calm the market or amplify it today? The inputs are public options data, and the framework is three readings (the market-structure & dealer-flow guide).

1. Net gamma: the regime

Net gamma exposure (GEX) tells you the regime. Positive net GEX = dealers absorbing (expect grind, pins, mean-reversion). Negative net GEX = dealers amplifying (expect trends, extension, violence). This single sign sets your expectation for the day's character (positive vs negative gamma).

2. The gamma-flip level: the pivot

The gamma flip is the price where net gamma crosses zero — the boundary between the two regimes (the gamma flip). Where price sits relative to the flip, and which way it's heading, tells you whether conditions are about to calm or heat up. A cross of the flip is a genuine regime change.

You're not predicting price. You're reading the terrain — and terrain decides whether a push rolls downhill or gets absorbed by the hill.

3. The walls: the levels

Finally, locate the big open-interest strikes — the call and put walls that act as magnets and barriers (gamma walls). Together, the three give you a map: the regime, the pivot, and the levels that matter. This is precisely the read NoVo Analyst publishes each session — net GEX, the flip level, and the key levels, in plain language. See how dealer hedging moves price.