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Module 04 · Trading Academy
Flow Reading & Dark Pools
Institutions leave footprints in options chains and off-exchange trade reports. This module teaches you how to read unusual options activity properly, decode dark pool prints, account for the 10-second TRF reporting delay, and combine flow + GEX into a single conviction signal — without confusing noise for smart money.
Chapters
10
Live
10
In progress
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4.1
Reading Options Flow
Volume vs OI, what “unusual” actually means, why most flow alerts are noise, and how to filter for actionable size.
LIVE
16 min
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4.2
Dark Pool & Institutional Flow
How off-exchange venues work, why institutions print there, and how to read FINRA TRF data for accumulation signals.
LIVE
16 min
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4.3
Dark Pool Flow + GEX Confluence
Combining dealer gamma exposure with dark pool prints to find where price gets pinned or accelerates.
LIVE
15 min
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4.4
Options Flow vs Equity Flow Divergence
When call buying lights up the chain while the cash tape sells off — the four divergence quadrants, gamma squeeze setups, and the NVDA Oct 2023 worked case.
LIVE
9 min
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4.5
Weekly vs Monthly Options Flow Patterns
Weeklies are sentiment, monthlies are positioning. The 0DTE shift, the weekly tail wagging the monthly dog, and how to read the weekly-monthly skew.
LIVE
9 min
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4.6
Reg ATS & the 10-Second Reporting Delay
Why the dark pool print you see was already 10 seconds stale — and what that means for trade timing.
LIVE
12 min
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4.7
Block Notional Methodology
How to size dark pool prints by notional value — not share count — to find what institutions actually care about.
LIVE
13 min
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4.8
Dark Pool + Options Confluence
When institutions print large blocks AND buy calls in size, conviction stacks. Building a confluence checklist.
LIVE
14 min
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4.9
NBBO & Fragmentation
16+ exchanges, 30+ ATSs — how the National Best Bid/Offer is constructed, and where your fills actually get routed.
LIVE
14 min
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4.10
Flow Confirmation Frameworks
A 4-source cross-asset framework: options flow + dark-pool prints + futures positioning + sector rotation. The 3-of-4 rule and the April 2024 regime flip.
LIVE
9 min
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