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Reading Options Flow

Sweeps, blocks, open interest, hedges and dark pools — read flow like a pro.

Intermediate · 6 video lessons · 12 minutes · 5-question video exercise · certificate

What you'll learn

• Decode every column of a flow alert.
• Tell urgent sweeps from negotiated blocks.
• Use open interest to see if money is opening or closing.
• And spot hedges and spreads that look like giant bets.

Lessons

1. What 'unusual options activity' means (2 min) — Millions of contracts trade every day. Learn what makes a few of them 'unusual' — and how to read a flow alert line by line.
2. Sweeps, blocks & splits (2 min) — How a big order hits the market tells you about urgency. Learn the three execution types and what each can — and can't — mean.
3. Volume vs. open interest (2 min) — Was that giant trade opening a new bet or closing an old one? Open interest holds the answer.
4. Bet or hedge? Reading the context (2 min) — The same trade can mean opposite things. Learn the clues that separate a directional bet from protection — and spot hidden spreads.
5. Flow traps that wreck traders (2 min) — Survivorship, chasing, mismatched timeframes and the 'bullish flow, red day' puzzle — and the one habit that fixes them.
6. Dark pools, explained (2 min) — What dark pools are, why they exist, what their prints can and can't tell you — and why they're normal market plumbing.

Exercise and certificate

The course ends with a 5-question video exercise. Submit your answers, see your score and the reasoning instantly, and pass with 80% to earn the Reading Options Flow certificate.

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