NQ and ES are the two most-watched equity-index futures, and both sit on deep, liquid options complexes — which is why dealer positioning shows up on them so clearly. This page is a practical workflow for using SPECTRE's daily levels on either instrument. Levels, not calls — plus a free trade idea on every daily path.
Dealer gamma is a function of the options chain, and the chain is only meaningful where volume is. NQ and ES carry some of the deepest index-option volume in the world, so the gamma map on them is dense and well-populated, and the hedging behind each strike is real size rather than a handful of contracts.
That also makes them a good place to learn the method. The families are the same every session — gamma, pivots, value areas, VWAP, prior periods — and the levels update once a day, so there is no scramble to recompute mid-session. You mark the map before the open and then trade your own plan against it.
The set is a small number of lines with distinct roles. The gamma flip tells you which regime you are in. The call and put walls are the heavy gamma strikes. Value areas (VAH, VAL, POC) mark where volume actually traded yesterday, and the session's developing values update as today's volume builds. VWAP and its bands give a volume-weighted fair value. Pivots offer five well-known systems of support and resistance. SPECTRE's expected-move band is on the BTC and ETH boards; the NQ and ES boards do not carry it.
Together they answer three questions before you place a single trade: where is the balance, where are the extremes, and what would count as unusual. That is context. What you do with it is your plan, your risk and your sizing — none of which a level set can decide for you.
The levels themselves are structure, not calls — they mark where price may react, not what to do. Separately, every daily path now carries a free trade idea: a defined entry, an invalidation and a target, written on the desk read. We publish a measured 1:1 reaction rate for each level type; it is not a trading win rate or a P&L claim. The levels are derived from public data, published in advance and timestamped, then scored against what the tape actually did. That is a research product — and it is deliberately not a signal service.
Trade ideas ship free on every daily path. General research, not personal advice. Read the risk & disclaimers. Start with the intro to gamma levels, or read how the levels are built on the methodology page. Free during launch.