You don't need GEX data

You don't actually need a GEX data feed to know you're probably in a long-gamma market.

I've been testing a systematic strategy without one lately. Swapped the "positive GEX" condition out for two simpler checks that don't cost anything.

Check one. The S&P has to be above its 10-day moving average.

If it is, chances are you're already in positive gamma. This one is essentially free to check on any chart you already have open. It's due to market structure and knowing that predictable overwriting flows tend to supply deals with upside calls.

Check two. The overnight gap down can't be bigger than half a percent.

Anything smaller than half a percent and the street very likely hasn't flipped short gamma overnight. Anything bigger and I'd want to pause and reconsider.

Put those two together and the odds you're trading a long-gamma session are pretty high, without leaning on a provider's number that might be naive to what the market's actually doing.

I also keep an eye on ATR through the session, so intraday vol picking up unexpectedly gets flagged before it drags the trade around.

The reason I bother with the two-check version is worth spelling out.

I like my systematic trades to look as close as possible to how I'd trade them by hand, and then let the bot manage things. If the entry logic drifts too far from what I'd actually do at the screen, the bot ends up in trades I wouldn't have taken, and the P&L stops being mine.

The whole habit of turning a professional-desk read into something you can run from a free chart is one of the practical themes I've incorporated in my framework. Which metrics you actually need. Which have cheap substitutes. Which you can skip entirely.

Start by watching my free 60 minutes masterclass, linked below.

Watch my free masterclass (exclusive for serious option traders)

If you want to skip the masterclass and jump straight into our course, the Options Insight Advantage, this is the link.

Jump straight into our course, the Options Insight Advantage