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The Setups

Five dealer-positioning patterns to recognize

Every gravity map looks unique, but most days it falls into one of five geometric shapes. When you can name the shape, you know the trade. Recognize it once, trade it forever.

1

The Pin

Fade the edges
Shape
A single dominant 👑 KING with the spot orbiting it tightly. No 🛡️ Sentinel and no nearby ⚡ STORM. Magnets cluster around one strike, drawing price into a narrow range.
$745 ──░ MAGNET $4M $744 ─░░ MAGNET $6M $743 ████████ 👑 MAGNET $28M ← THE PIN $742 ─░░ MAGNET $5M $741 ──░ MAGNET $3M $740 ─── ◀ spot $743.20
What to do
  • Sell premium against the range, short calls above the KING, short puts below
  • Fade rejections at the range extremes back to the KING
  • Skip the middle, symmetric R:R, no edge
Avoid
Buying calls or puts. Theta crushes any directional bet when price is pinned.
2

The Drift

Trade toward the KING
Shape
A 👑 KING above (or below) spot with little structure on the opposite side. No ⚡ STORM in band to threaten. Path of least resistance points to the magnet.
$755 ████████ 👑 WALL $40M ← The destination $753 ─░░ $4M $751 ──░ $2M $750 ─░ $1M $749 ◀ spot $749.50 $748 ─░ $1M $747 ─░ -$1M $745 ──░ -$2M
What to do
  • Bias positions in the direction of the KING
  • If price pulls back to spot, accumulate; KING gravity reasserts
  • Exit when price reaches the KING, that's the magnet's job done
Confirmation needed
Index Sync agreement. If SPX/SPY/QQQ don't agree, the Drift is unreliable, broader tape may overwhelm one symbol's structure.
3

The Sandwich

Fade both extremes
Shape
A 👑 KING above + an ⚡ STORM below + spot anchored between them. The magnet pulls price up; the amplifier threatens cascade down. Range-bound until something breaks.
$750 ████████ 👑 WALL $35M $748 ──░░ $5M $746 ─░ $2M $745 ◀ spot $745.10 $744 ──░ -$3M $742 ─░░ -$5M $740 ████████ ⚡ AMP -$28M
What to do
  • Premium sellers: short strangles around the range
  • Day traders: fade $750 from above, fade $740 from below
  • If price loses $740 with volume → STORM cascade is live, get out of long premium
Watch for
The 🎯 FLIP line. If it's near spot, the Sandwich becomes unstable, small range break flips the whole regime.
4

The Cascade

Cheap puts after trigger
Shape
Stack of negative GEX strikes below spot with no MAGNET or FLOOR breaking the chain. An ⚡ STORM sits at the bottom of the stack. Path opens for momentum if the trigger fires.
$745 ◀ spot $744.80 $744 ─░ -$3M $743 ──░ -$5M $742 ──── -$8M $741 ────── -$12M $740 ████ -$18M ← Trigger $738 ████████ -$25M $735 ████████████ ⚡ AMP -$45M
What to do
  • Don't pre-position. Wait for the trigger to print, volume + a real break of the closest positive strike
  • After trigger: cheap puts at the next strike below trigger, defined risk
  • Target: the STORM level. Take profit there; cascade exhausts at the amp
Trigger condition
Spot must break the first positive strike with volume + macro/news confirmation. Without a trigger, price oscillates above and theta destroys put premium.
5

No-Read

Stand aside
Shape
Competing structures across the band, multiple KINGs and STORMs in conflict, no clear dominant level, map state is SHIFTING, or Index Sync is diverged. The geometry is incoherent.
$750 ████ WALL $18M $748 ──── AMP -$15M $747 ████ MAGNET $20M $745 ──░░ $2M $744 ◀ spot $743.90 $743 ──── AMP -$12M $742 ████ MAGNET $19M $740 ──── AMP -$17M
What to do
  • Nothing. No-Read is the most disciplined trade of the week
  • Watch for one structure to dominate (a clear King emerges, others fade)
  • Re-engage only when the picture resolves, usually within 30-60 min
Why this matters
No-Read sessions destroy more accounts than any specific bad trade. Forcing positions during No-Read is how disciplined traders become emotional ones. The best traders sit out 1-2 days per week.

Learn the shapes. Wait for them. Trade only when one shows up clearly.

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Mantis

The Mantis swing archetypes

UPCOMING · in testing
What's coming

The five shapes above are intraday geometry. Mantis, the swing agent now in final testing, hunts their multi-day cousins on ~130 single names: trend pullback (uptrend holds the 20/50 SMA), breakout + retest, base breakout, MA reclaim, and failed breakdown, long and short mirrors, each one only tradeable when dealer positioning and darkpool blocks agree with the chart. Every card ships a full plan: entry, ATR stop, two targets with R:R, and a vetted contract. Full anatomy in the Playbook, section 10b.