Date: Thu Aug 27, 2026 | Expiration: 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 Thu Aug 27, 2026
| Snapshot | Value | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Spot | 770.38 | Broke up, on the 769/770 call pins |
| Max Pain | 765 | Below — the old pin, now weak |
| Flip | 766.81 | Spot above → positive/supported regime |
| #1 / #2 Absolute | 765 / 769 | 765 neg below, 769 positive at spot |
| 🟢 Bullish tilt | Bulls 34.3M vs Bears 25.9M ≈ 1.32:1 |
LEVEL LADDER (high → low):
| Dir | Level | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 🟢 ▲ | 774 | Baby Bull (+8.2M) |
| ☕ | 770.38 | WE ARE HERE (spot) |
| 🟢 | 770 / 769 | Call pins — 769 Daddy Bull (+15.9M) |
| 🟢 | 767 / 766 | Positive — the flip to green |
| 🟠 | 766.81 | FLIP |
| 🔵 | 765 | Max Pain + put wall (−7.4M) |
| 🔴 ▼ | 764 / 760 | Put support |
THE THREE PATHS:
| Path | Trigger → Target |
|---|---|
| 🟢 Bullish | Hold 769 / the Flip → pinned 769/770 → 774 |
| ⚪ Neutral | Pinned 769–770 above the Flip |
| 🔴 Bearish | Lose the Flip 766.81 → 765/764 put support |
⚡ OPENING NOTE
SPY Spot: 770.38 · Max Pain: 765 · Flip: 766.81. The monster 765 pin collapsed — as that expiration rolled off, 765 went from −208M / 39K puts down to just −7.4M, and, freed from the magnet, price broke up ~4.5 to 770.38, now above the Flip (766.81) in positive territory. The pins are now overhead-at-spot: 769 (Daddy Bull +15.9M) and 770 (+10.2M) are call pins right where price is trading, with 774 above. Support sits below at 765 (Max Pain) and 764/760. Hold 769 / the Flip → pinned toward 774; lose the Flip 766.81 → back to the 765/764 put support. 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:
774,770,769,770.38,765,766.81,765,764,760,765
SPX String:
7740,7700,7690,7703.8,7650,7668.1,7650,7640,7600,7650
Options Flow — VOLUME (Strike, Calls, Puts):
770, 33K, 2K
769, 31K, 2K
766, 49K, 63K
765, 34K, 68K
764, 10K, 44K
Options Flow — OPEN INTEREST (Strike, Calls, Puts):
770, 3K, 1K
769, 4K, 1K
766, 2K, 1K
765, 2K, 3K
764, 1K, 3K
🌡️ QZ TEMPERATURE
🌡️ SPY — Level then COLOR (Sign):
765 BLUE (Plus)
764 BLUE (Plus)
763 BLUE (Plus)
760 BLUE (Plus)
762 BLUE (Plus)
769 GREEN (Plus)
770 GREEN (Plus)
766 GREEN (Plus)
767 GREEN (Plus)
774 GREEN (Plus)
🧭 STRUCTURE CHECK
Market Structure (5 Min):
| Structure | Level | Status |
|---|---|---|
| HH (Higher High) | ~768.00 | Uptrend high (on the chart) |
| HL (Higher Low) | ~765.00 | Uptrend support |
| Current | ~766.4 (chart) | Since pushed to 770.38 |
Q ALGO™ Status: 🟢 UPTREND (HH + HL) — broke higher
SPY built a series of Higher Highs and Higher Lows off the 765 base and has since pushed up to ~770.38 — above the structure chart’s frame (~766). Treat the exposure snapshot (770.38) as the live map: hold above the Flip (766.81) and the 769/770 pins carry toward 774; lose the Flip and it slips back to the 765/764 support. (Structure chart reads ~766.4 from earlier; the exposure snapshot reads spot 770.38 — different moments; exposure is the map, structure the trigger.)
🎯 CONFLUENCE — ABOVE THE FLIP, ON THE 769/770 CALL PINS
Spot broke above the Flip onto its call pins. 769 (Daddy Bull +15.9M, #2 Abs) and 770 (+10.2M, #5 Abs) are positive call pins right at spot — price is trading on them — with 774 (+8.2M) the next pin above. Below, the old 765 wall is now spent (Max Pain, only −7.4M) and 764/760 are ordinary put support. The Flip is just under at 766.81, so the regime flipped positive. The board is call-heavy (PCR 0.71) — resistance/pins overhead, support below — so the read is a supported grind: hold the 769/Flip zone and price pins toward 774, lose the Flip and it drops back to the 765/764 puts.
📊 DECISION TABLE
| Level | What It Is | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 774 | 🎯 Baby Bull (+8.2M) | Upside pin |
| 770.38 | ☕ WE ARE HERE (Spot) | On the call pins |
| 770 | Mama Bull (+10.2M) + Abs #5 | Call pin |
| 769 | 🎯 Daddy Bull (+15.9M) + #2 Abs | Call pin |
| 767 | Abs #7 (14.8M) — small positive | Support |
| 766 | Positive (+5.4M) + Abs #4 | The flip to green |
| 766.81 | 🟠 FLIP | Regime gate |
| 765 | 🔵 MAX PAIN + #1 Abs (26.6M) + Baby Bear (−7.4M) | Put wall / support |
| 764 | 👹 Mama Bear (−7.9M) + #3 Abs | Support |
| 763 | Abs #8 (12.7M) — negative | Shelf |
| 760 | 👹 Daddy Bear (−10.7M) + Abs #6 | Deeper support |
🎯 THREE BEARS / THREE BULLS (by MM Exposure size)
THE THREE BULLS (Positive):
| Bull | Strike | MM Exposure | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 = DADDY | 769 | +15.9M | 4.5K | 32.8K |
| B2 = MAMA | 770 | +10.2M | 3.8K | 35.5K |
| B3 = BABY | 774 | +8.2M | 4.6K | 15.5K |
B1/B2 (769/770) are the call pins right at spot — the magnet today.
THE THREE BEARS (Negative):
| Bear | Strike | MM Exposure | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 = DADDY | 760 | −10.7M | 5.1K | 30.0K |
| S2 = MAMA | 764 | −7.9M | 4.3K | 53.8K |
| S3 = BABY | 765 | −7.3M | 5.4K | 102.1K |
🟢 Bullish tilt. Bulls 34.3M vs Bears 25.9M ≈ 1.32:1. The bulls (769/770) sit at spot as call pins while the bears are ordinary put support below (765/764/760). Spot above the Flip = supported grind; the old 765 monster wall is spent.
☕ RANGE ZONE
| Zone | Why |
|---|---|
| 766 — 770 | Spot sits on the 769/770 call pins above the Flip, with 774 the next pin up and 765/764 the support below. Positive exposure holds price here — expect a supported grind/pin; clear 770/774 to extend, lose the Flip to slip back to 765. |
Commentary: 766 carries the highest total volume on the board (111K), with 765 (102K) and 767 (85K) behind — heavy churn at the 765–767 flip zone, the base price broke up from. Only strikes with a clean call/put split appear in the flow tables.
🔥 THURSDAY FACTOR
| Wednesday (8/26) | Thursday (8/27) |
|---|---|
| 765.9 — monster 765 pin (−208M, 39K puts) | 770.38 — pin collapsed, broke up ~4.5 |
| Pinned | Bullish tilt, above the Flip |
| Glued to 765 | On the 769/770 call pins |
The pin collapsed and price broke up. Wednesday’s monster 765 wall (−208M / 39K puts) rolled off with its expiration — 765 is now just −7.4M — and, freed from the magnet, price broke up ~4.5 to 770.38, above the Flip (766.81) in positive territory. The map flipped: 769/770 are call pins at spot, 774 above, 765/764 support below. Bullish tilt (1.32:1). Hold 769/Flip for the grind toward 774; lose the Flip for a slip back to the 765 puts.
🎯 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. Supported/pin day above the Flip: expect a grind on the 769/770 pins — wait for a clear of 770/774 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) |
|---|---|---|
| 3,078 | 770 | 722 |
| 3,944 | 769 | 564 |
| 2,435 | 766 | 1,350 |
| 1,959 | 765 | 3,442 |
| 1,283 | 764 | 2,972 |
Board PCR (OI) ≈ 0.71 — call-heavy. Read it: the resistance/call OI stacks right at spot — 769/770 are call walls (the pins), with 766 call-leaning. Support/put OI builds below at 764 (PCR 2.32) and 765 (1.76). So the map is call pins at 769/770 sitting over a put shelf at 764/765 — a supported grind at the pins. Because price is above the 765/764 call… note these are support-by-position now (price above them), so a dip into 765 gets absorbed while price holds above the Flip; lose the Flip and they become 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 ☕