Learning mapFrom premarket to close: daily workflowOptions & hedging basicsStart from the chart: six-step processNodes, floors & air pocketsRange, trend & acceleration structuresDealer board overviewLadder chart & key nodesHeatmap & multi-expiry structureMarket Trends: sentiment & sectorsOptions · Dark Pool Flow: capital cluesHow to investigate an unusual printSmart Money: disclosed dataData basis, updates & coverageCommon pitfalls & limitationsGlossary

Feature guide

Options · Dark Pool Flow: turn large trades into testable clues

Unusual options trades and dark pool blocks appear side by side. They can show you where to investigate, but cannot independently prove direction, opening or closing activity, or institutional intent.

You can compare up to four symbol panels at once. Under "View," click "Select symbols" to add them. Each panel header shows its current trade count and total premium, making it easy to compare which symbols have the most active capital.

Options flow table

A live feed of large options trades. Each row includes the time, contract (Call/Put + strike + expiry), action, premium, and contract count.

The "Action" column automatically estimates trade intent:

  • A trade closer to the Ask (the seller's quote) suggests an aggressive buyer lifting offers; one closer to the Bid (the buyer's quote) suggests an aggressive seller hitting bids.
  • Combined with the contract type, this produces four labels: Buy Call, Sell Call, Buy Put, and Sell Put, each with a corresponding bullish or bearish tendency.
  • A trade filled by sweeping several exchanges at once also receives the SWEEP label, which usually indicates that the order's originator prioritized immediate execution.

Dark pool trades table

Dark pool trades are large stock transactions that do not appear on the public order book. Each row includes the time, price, share count, and notional value. Direction labels estimate the aggressive side from the trade price's proximity to the Bid or Ask; they do not prove the trade's true intent.

A large dark pool trade can identify a price area or unusual activity, but it cannot simply be translated as "someone bought" or "someone is bullish." It becomes more meaningful when read alongside price structure, options flow, and subsequent trading behavior.

How to decide whether a trade matters

Options flow updates all day, and not every trade deserves attention. More reliable angles include:

  • Is the size unusually large? A single trade whose premium is far above the symbol's normal range deserves more attention than scattered small orders. Large capital is difficult to deploy without leaving a trace.
  • Is it marked SWEEP? Consuming liquidity across several exchanges almost simultaneously suggests that the trader cared more about execution speed than minimizing costs, often reflecting stronger urgency.
  • Does the same direction repeat? Several trades in the same symbol and direction within a short period—for example, repeated Call buying—are more consistent with planned position building than one isolated trade.
  • Does it agree with the structure? Did the large trade occur near a key area you had already identified? If flow, price, and position structure conflict, treat the trade as information awaiting confirmation, not as a reason to enter.

Buying at the Ask does not mean opening a position

The "Action" label infers the aggressive side from whether the trade was closer to the Ask or Bid. A trade at the Ask only suggests that a buyer was more likely consuming available liquidity at that moment. It does not guarantee a newly opened bullish position; someone could also be closing a prior short position.

A lone "Buy Call," SWEEP, or dark pool print does not establish direction. It may be an opening trade, closing trade, one leg of a spread, a hedge, or a roll. A more reliable assessment combines size, OI, expiry, repetition, and price structure.