SPY ZERO DTE (Pre-Market) Aug 28, 2026
Date: Fri Aug 28, 2026 | Expiration: Aug 28, 2026
We study SPY and Trade SPX SPDR 500 ZERO DTE Index.
🎯 QZ ALGO CREED — Probability Over Prediction
We don’t forecast. We read positioning — where Market Maker exposure sits, where the walls are, and how MM is priced across strikes. That tells us where price is constrained, not where it’s going. Structure decides the trade.
VIP Content - Enter Email to Unlock
This content is exclusive to IKIGAI VIP members. Enter your registered email below to access the full EDGE analysis.
Not a VIP yet? Join IKIGAI Trading Academy
📋 EXECUTIVE DASHBOARD — SPY Fri Aug 28, 2026
| Snapshot | Value | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Spot | 770.4 | Sitting on the giant 770 call pin |
| Max Pain | 764 | Far below — out of the way |
| Flip | 768.35 | Spot above → positive/supported regime |
| #1 Absolute | 770 | 116.9M, +54.6M — giant call pin at spot |
| 🟢 Bullish / pinning | Bulls 126.6M vs Bears 32M ≈ 4:1 |
LEVEL LADDER (high → low):
| Dir | Level | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 🟢 ▲ | 776 / 775 | Upside pins (+34.7M / +37.3M) |
| 🟢 | 774 / 772 | Positive |
| ☕ | 770.4 | WE ARE HERE (spot) |
| 🟢 ◆ | 770 | #1 Abs giant call pin (+54.6M) |
| 🟢 | 768 | Positive (+26.5M) |
| 🟠 | 768.35 | FLIP |
| 🔵 | 764 | Max Pain (below) |
| 🔴 ▼ | 765 / 763 / 760 | Put support |
THE THREE PATHS:
| Path | Trigger → Target |
|---|---|
| 🟢 Bullish | Hold 770 / the Flip → pinned 770 → 775/776 |
| ⚪ Neutral | Pinned at the 770 call pin above the Flip |
| 🔴 Bearish | Lose the Flip 768.35 → 765 support (Max Pain 764) |
⚡ OPENING NOTE
SPY Spot: 770.4 · Max Pain: 764 · Flip: 768.35. Price held Thursday’s breakout and the 770 pin got much bigger — from ~+10M yesterday to a giant +54.6M with 21K open interest and 213K volume, the #1 Absolute at 116.9M. This is now a strong positive/pinning day: 770 is a giant call magnet right at spot, with 775/776 the upside pins/targets above and 765 put support below. Max Pain 764 is far under the Flip and out of the way. Hold above the Flip (768.35) → pinned at 770, grind toward 775; lose the Flip → ease back to 765. Read it with structure — no levels, no trade.
📊 TV VALUES
📌 OI / Levels Note: These are pre-market LEVELS — a positioning snapshot taken before the open. Open Interest and MM exposure shift as the live chain updates through the session, so treat these as the map and the bias, not real-time truth.
SPY String — paste into QZ ALGO Daily Magnets:
776,775,770,770.4,764,768.35,765,760,763,770
SPX String:
7760,7750,7700,7704,7640,7683.5,7650,7600,7630,7700
Options Flow — VOLUME (Strike, Calls, Puts):
775, 56K, 3K
770, 94K, 118K
768, 25K, 54K
765, 7K, 70K
Options Flow — OPEN INTEREST (Strike, Calls, Puts):
775, 10K, 2K
770, 16K, 6K
768, 9K, 4K
765, 7K, 10K
🌡️ QZ TEMPERATURE
🌡️ SPY — Level then COLOR (Sign):
765 BLUE (Plus)
763 BLUE (Plus)
760 BLUE (Plus)
764 BLUE (Plus)
762 BLUE (Plus)
770 GREEN (Plus)
775 GREEN (Plus)
768 GREEN (Plus)
776 GREEN (Plus)
774 GREEN (Plus)
🧭 STRUCTURE CHECK
Market Structure (5 Min):
| Structure | Level | Status |
|---|---|---|
| HH (Higher High) | ~772.00 | Uptrend high |
| HL (Higher Low) | ~769.20 | Uptrend support |
| Current | ~770.9 | Pressing back to the highs |
Q ALGO™ Status: 🟢 UPTREND (HH + HL) — pressing the highs
SPY built a Higher High near 772 and a Higher Low around 769.2 and is pressing back toward the highs near 770.9, above all the day’s pivots (R3 769.18). Hold above the Flip (768.35) and the 770 pin carries toward 775; lose 769/768.35 and it slips back toward the 765 support. (Structure chart reads ~770.9; the exposure snapshot reads spot 770.4 — aligned.)
🎯 CONFLUENCE — 770 IS THE GIANT CALL PIN
770 is the magnet of the day. It’s the #1 Absolute (116.9M), the Daddy Bull (+54.6M), with 21K open interest and the highest volume on the board (213K) — a giant positive call pin right at spot. Above, 775 (+37.3M) and 776 (+34.7M) are the next pins/targets, with 774/772 filling in — a dense green cluster 768–776. Below, the Flip is just under at 768.35, and the negatives (765/763/760) are ordinary put support; Max Pain 764 is far below and out of the way. Positive exposure this heavy = a held, pinning tape: price pins at 770 and grinds toward 775 while it holds the Flip; only a loss of 768.35 drops it back to the 765 puts.
📊 DECISION TABLE
| Level | What It Is | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 776 | 🎯 Baby Bull (+34.7M) + Abs #7 | Upside pin |
| 775 | 🎯 Mama Bull (+37.3M) + Abs #3 | Positive pin/target |
| 774 | Positive + Abs #4 (50.9M) | Pin |
| 772 | Positive + Abs #6 (46M) | Pin |
| 770.4 | ☕ WE ARE HERE (Spot) | On the giant pin |
| 770 | 🎯 #1 Abs (116.9M) + Daddy Bull (+54.6M) | The giant call pin |
| 768 | Positive (+26.5M) + #2 Abs | Pin |
| 768.35 | 🟠 FLIP | Regime gate |
| 767 | Positive + Abs #8 (41.1M) | Support |
| 765 | 👹 Baby Bear (−9M) + #5 Abs + put wall | Support |
| 764 | 🔵 MAX PAIN | Magnet below |
| 763 | 👹 Daddy Bear (−12.9M) | Support |
| 760 | 👹 Mama Bear (−10.1M) | Deeper support |
🎯 THREE BEARS / THREE BULLS (by MM Exposure size)
THE THREE BULLS (Positive):
| Bull | Strike | MM Exposure | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 = DADDY | 770 | +54.6M | 21.1K | 212.9K |
| B2 = MAMA | 775 | +37.3M | 11.7K | 58.8K |
| B3 = BABY | 776 | +34.7M | 11.3K | 30.7K |
B1 (770) is the #1 Absolute + the giant call pin — the magnet at spot.
THE THREE BEARS (Negative):
| Bear | Strike | MM Exposure | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 = DADDY | 763 | −12.9M | 9.8K | 24.8K |
| S2 = MAMA | 760 | −10.1M | 17.2K | 39.5K |
| S3 = BABY | 765 | −9.0M | 16.8K | 76.9K |
🟢 Strong bull board. Bulls 126.6M vs Bears 32M ≈ 4:1. Positive exposure is stacked 768–776 with the giant 770 pin at spot; the negatives are small ordinary put support (765/763/760). Pure positive/pinning tilt — the question is whether price holds the 770/Flip zone.
☕ RANGE ZONE
| Zone | Why |
|---|---|
| 768 — 776 | Spot pins on the giant 770 call pin inside a dense positive cluster (768–776) above the Flip. Positive exposure holds price here — expect a pin/grind at 770 toward 775; lose the Flip (768.35) and it eases back to 765. |
Commentary: 770 carries by far the highest total volume on the board (213K), with 772 (100K), 768 (79K) and 765 (77K) behind — enormous flow around the giant pin. Only strikes with a clean call/put split appear in the flow tables.
🔥 FRIDAY FACTOR
| Thursday (8/27) | Friday (8/28) |
|---|---|
| 770.38 — broke up, call pins 769/770 (+10M) | 770.4 — held, 770 built into a GIANT pin (+54.6M) |
| Bullish ~1.32:1 | Bullish ~4:1 |
| Supported grind | Positive/pinning at 770 |
The pin got giant. Price held Thursday’s breakout and the 770 pin grew from ~+10M into a giant +54.6M / 21K-OI / 213K-volume call pin — the #1 Absolute. This is a strong positive/pinning day: 770 is a big magnet at spot, 775/776 the targets, 765 the support, Max Pain 764 far below. Bull tilt jumped to 4:1. Hold above the Flip (768.35) for the pin/grind toward 775; lose it for an ease back to 765.
🎯 Q ALGO™ CHECKLIST — WE DON’T TRADE EMOTIONS, WE LOOK FOR CLUES
| Step | What We Check |
|---|---|
| 1 | LEVELS (from this newsletter) |
| 2 | 15-Min chart |
| 3 | 5-Min chart |
| 4 | 1-Min chart |
| 5 | BANDS |
| 6 | River |
| 7 | Volume Line (Fair Value) |
| 8 | Candle for Entry |
| 9 | Flip Line |
| 10 | Trend Context (Trend Engine) |
| 11 | Pivots |
| 12 | LQ Areas |
| 13 | Entry Candle |
| 14 | Flow |
| 15 | VSA + QVDD |
No Structure = No Trade. Not all checklist items need to align — build your edge based on your own edge. Positive/pinning day at the highs: expect a pin/grind on 770 — wait for a clear of 772/775 up or a loss of the Flip down.
✈️ Pilots — read the live chain at the open. These newsletter values are pre-market LEVELS; the options chain is real-time data. Check the live chain around 9:45–10:00 AM ET, once conditions settle, and confirm the walls are still where the letter has them. Levels give you the map and the bias — the live chain is the truth at the open, so weight your reliance accordingly before you trade.
📋 OI TABLE — SUPPORT vs RESISTANCE
| Call OI (Resistance) | Strike | Put OI (Support) |
|---|---|---|
| 9,809 | 775 | 1,912 |
| 15,511 | 770 | 5,634 |
| 9,334 | 768 | 3,534 |
| 6,916 | 765 | 9,920 |
Board PCR (OI) ≈ 0.51 — call-heavy. Read it: the resistance/call OI is stacked at and above spot — 770 (16K calls, the giant pin), 768 and 775 (the target). The only real put/support in this window is 765 (PCR 1.43). So the map is a wall of call pins holding price up (770 the magnet, 775 the cap/target) over a put shelf at 765 — a supported grind. Because price is above 768/770, those big call strikes act as support-by-position on a dip while price holds the Flip; lose 768.35 and 765 is the floor being tested.
⚖️ Disclaimer
This is not investment advisory. I’m not calling trades. I’m teaching you to think. Trading futures and options involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The IKIGAI Algo and any associated indicators, tools, or educational materials are provided for informational and educational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice. You should consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any trading decisions. Q Levels and affiliated parties are not registered investment advisors, broker-dealers, or financial planners. By participation, you acknowledge you are solely responsible for your own trading decisions and any resulting gains or losses. No guarantees of profit or specific results are made or implied. All sales are final. Please trade responsibly and only risk capital you can afford to lose. Errors and omissions excepted.
— Q Levels Trading | Coffee With Q ☕