Date: Mon Aug 24, 2026 | Expiration: Aug 24, 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.
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📋 EXECUTIVE DASHBOARD — SPY Mon Aug 24, 2026
| Snapshot | Value | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Spot | 767 | At the Flip / Max Pain boundary |
| Max Pain | 768 | Just above spot |
| Flip | 767.57 | Spot just below → at the regime gate |
| #1 / #2 Absolute | 765 / 766 | Both negative below → 765 the monster put wall |
| What does it mean but see MS | 🔴 Bearish tilt (at the boundary) | Confirm with MS |
LEVEL LADDER (high → low):
| Dir | Level | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 🟢 ▲ | 773 / 772 | Positive pins — 772 Daddy Bull (+30.6M) |
| 🟢 | 770 / 768 | Positive — 768 the flip to green + Max Pain |
| 🟠 | 767.57 | FLIP |
| ☕ | 767 | WE ARE HERE (spot) |
| 🔴 | 766 | Mama Bear (−22.4M) + put wall |
| 🔴 ◆ | 765 | #1 Abs + Daddy Bear (−79.7M) — monster put wall |
| 🔴 ▼ | 764 / 761 | Negative shelf |
THE THREE PATHS:
| Path | Trigger → Target |
|---|---|
| 🟢 Bullish | Reclaim 768 (Flip / Max Pain) → 770 → 772 pin |
| ⚪ Neutral | Chop 765–768 at the boundary |
| 🔴 Bearish | Lose 765 monster wall → amplify to 764/761 |
⚡ OPENING NOTE
SPY Spot: 767 · Max Pain: 768 · Flip: 767.57.
📊 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:
773,768,772,767,768,767.57,761,766,765,765
SPX String:
7730,7680,7720,7670,7680,7675.7,7610,7660,7650,7650
Options Flow — VOLUME (Strike, Calls, Puts):
772, 30K, 3K
768, 51K, 11K
766, 79K, 80K
765, 38K, 103K
770, 46K, 3K
Options Flow — OPEN INTEREST (Strike, Calls, Puts):
772, 12K, 1K
768, 4K, 2K
770, 3K, 3K
766, 2K, 6K
765, 2K, 14K
🌡️ QZ TEMPERATURE
🌡️ SPY — Level then COLOR (Sign):
765 RED (Minus)
766 RED (Minus)
769 RED (Minus)
767 RED (Minus)
764 RED (Minus)
772 GREEN (Plus)
768 GREEN (Plus)
770 GREEN (Plus)
773 GREEN (Plus)
771 GREEN (Plus)
🧭 STRUCTURE CHECK
Market Structure (5 Min):
| Structure | Level | Status |
|---|---|---|
| HH (Higher High) | ~768.00 | Recent high |
| HL (Higher Low) | ~765.00 | Pullback low |
| Current | ~765.5 | Basing / chop |
Q ALGO™ Status: 🔄 BASING (HH → HL) — chop at the boundary
SPY tagged a Higher High near 768, pulled back to a Higher Low around 765, and is basing/chopping between them near 765.5 around the pivots (R1 766.61 / P 764.28). Reclaim 767.57/768 to press the green pins toward 772; lose 765 (the HL / monster wall) and it opens the amplification toward 764/761. (Structure chart reads ~765.5; the exposure snapshot reads spot 767 — treat exposure as the map, structure as the trigger.)
📊 DECISION TABLE
| Level | What It Is | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 773 | Baby Bull (+6.4M) | Upside pin |
| 772 | 🎯 Daddy Bull (+30.6M) + Abs #4 | Positive pin/target |
| 770 | Positive (+1.2M) + Abs #6 | Pin |
| 768 | 🔵 MAX PAIN + Mama Bull (+17.1M) + Abs #3 | The flip to green / gate |
| 767.57 | 🟠 FLIP | Regime gate |
| 767 | ☕ WE ARE HERE (Spot) + Abs #7 | At the boundary |
| 766 | 👹 Mama Bear (−22.4M) + #2 Abs + put wall | Just below spot |
| 765 | 🎯 #1 Abs (105.6M) + Daddy Bear (−79.7M) + monster put wall | The wall below |
| 764 | Abs #8 (18.5M) — negative | Shelf |
| 761 | 👹 Baby Bear (−11.3M) | Deeper shelf |
🎯 THREE BEARS / THREE BULLS (by MM Exposure size)
THE THREE BEARS (Negative):
| Bear | Strike | MM Exposure | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 = DADDY | 765 | −79.7M | 16.2K | 141.0K |
| S2 = MAMA | 766 | −22.4M | 7.8K | 158.9K |
| S3 = BABY | 761 | −11.3M | 3.5K | 23.0K |
S1 (765) is also #1 Abs + the monster put wall — the biggest magnet, just below spot.
THE THREE BULLS (Positive):
| Bull | Strike | MM Exposure | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 = DADDY | 772 | +30.6M | 12.9K | 33.6K |
| B2 = MAMA | 768 | +17.1M | 6.1K | 61.0K |
| B3 = BABY | 773 | +6.4M | 3.7K | 18.0K |
🔴 Bearish tilt, at the boundary. Bears 113.4M vs Bulls 54.1M ≈ 2.1:1 — but the bear weight is the 765 wall just below spot (support if it holds), while the bulls (768/772) sit just above. Spot on the Flip means the 765/768 break decides direction.
☕ RANGE ZONE
| Zone | Why |
|---|---|
| 765 — 768 | Spot pins on the Flip between the 765 monster wall and the 768 green pin / Max Pain. A reclaim of 768 opens 770/772; a loss of 765 flips it to amplification toward 764/761. Trend is harder to build inside the band. |
Commentary: 766 carries the highest total volume on the board (159K), with 765 (141K) and 767 (100K) close behind — enormous two-way churn packed into the 765–767 zone at spot. Only strikes with a clean call/put split appear in the flow tables.
🎯 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. Boundary/chop day: wait for the 768 reclaim up or the 765 break down — don’t force the middle.
✈️ 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) | PCR (P/C OI) | READ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11,852 | 772 | 1,083 | 0.09 | 🔴 Call wall / resistance |
| 4,337 | 768 | 1,722 | 0.40 | 🔴 Call wall (the flip pin) |
| 3,356 | 770 | 3,087 | 0.92 | ⚪ Balanced |
| 2,307 | 766 | 5,534 | 2.40 | 🟢 Strong support (put wall) |
| 1,978 | 765 | 14,178 | 7.17 | 🟢 Pure put wall / floor |
🎁 BONUS — PCR CONTRARIAN VIEW (OI-based)
The standard read says put-heavy = support and call-heavy = resistance. The contrarian read flips it: when the crowd is heavily loaded one way, that positioning becomes fuel for the opposite move.
| Strike | Standard | 🔄 Contrarian |
|---|---|---|
| 765 | Support | Monster put wall just below spot — crowd max-hedged; if 765 holds it’s squeeze fuel up |
| 766 | Support | Put wall at spot — bounce/squeeze fuel on a hold |
| 770 | Balanced | The pivot — no contrarian edge |
Bottom 3 (lowest PCR — most call-heavy):
| Strike | Standard | 🔄 Contrarian |
|---|---|---|
| 772 | Resistance | The upside pin — complacency cap; a rush into 772 is where late longs get trapped |
| 768 | Resistance | Call wall / flip pin — greed/target; fade caution into it |
| 770 | Balanced | The pivot — no contrarian edge |
(Contrarian signals are a secondary lens — trade them only with structure confirmation, never alone.)
⚖️ 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 ☕