The ledger of terms · A to Z
Trading terms, defined
A glossary of the trading terms used across The Velvet Den, from 0DTE to unusual options flow. Every definition is self-contained and written to be understood on its own, and each term points to the desk where it lives. The list grows as the rooms do.
LAST UPDATED · AUGUST 4, 2026
Terms beginning with 0
- 0DTE
- A 0DTE (zero days to expiration) option expires the same day it is traded. Premium is cheap and moves violently, because all remaining time value burns off within hours. It is the fastest, highest-risk cadence on an options desk and sizing stays small for exactly that reason. Desk: the options desk
Terms beginning with D
- Defined risk
- A defined-risk trade has a known maximum loss before entry: the premium paid, or the width of a spread. The number is decided at the fill, not discovered afterwards, which is why alert desks state size and stop alongside every call. Desk: the options desk
- Divergence
- Divergence appears when price makes a new high or low but an indicator such as RSI refuses to confirm it. A bullish divergence hints sellers are tiring; a bearish one hints buyers are. It is a warning light, not a signal on its own. Desk: the swing desk
Terms beginning with E
- Entry range
- An entry range is a price zone for opening a position rather than a single print, for example 2.10-2.25 on an options contract. It admits that fills differ between members and discourages chasing a price that has already left. Desk: the options desk
- Expiry
- Expiry is the date an options contract stops existing. After it, the contract settles worthless or in the money. Everything about an option, its premium, its risk and its pace, is a function of how far away expiry sits. Desk: the options desk
Terms beginning with H
- Halt (LULD)
- A limit-up limit-down halt pauses trading when a stock moves outside its allowed price band, usually for five minutes. Halts cluster around news and low float names; a halt-watch feed flags them as they trigger so nobody is trapped guessing. Desk: the day desk
Terms beginning with P
- Position trade
- A position trade is the slowest style on the floor: built over weeks around a thesis, added to at planned levels, and judged on where a name goes across a quarter rather than a session. Desk: the stocks desk
- Power hour
- Power hour is the final hour of the US session, 3:00 to 4:00 pm ET, when volume returns as funds rebalance and day traders close out. Alongside the open, it is one of the two stretches an intraday desk actually works. Desk: the day desk
- Pre-market
- Pre-market is the thin session before the 9:30 am ET open. Prices gap on overnight news with little volume behind them, so the desk uses it for levels and planning rather than entries. Desk: the day desk
Terms beginning with S
- Scaling out
- Scaling out takes profit in pieces as a trade works: a first trim at the first target, more at the second, a runner left for the thesis. It trades some upside for the certainty of banking gains along the way. Desk: the swing desk
- Stop loss
- A stop loss is the pre-committed exit that caps a losing trade, placed under a structural level rather than under a mood. When the level fails the trade is wrong by definition, and the stop takes the decision away from hope. Desk: the stocks desk
- Strike
- The strike is the price at which an options contract can be exercised. Distance between strike and current price sets how aggressive the trade is: near the money moves steadily, far out of the money is cheap and usually dies. Desk: the options desk
- Swing trade
- A swing trade holds for days to weeks to capture one directional move. It must survive overnight gaps, so stops sit wider, size runs smaller, and the thesis is written down before entry. Desk: the swing desk
Terms beginning with U
- Unusual options flow
- Unusual options flow is aggressive activity out of proportion to a contract’s normal volume: sweeps, blocks, far-dated size. It shows that someone large is positioning; read against the chart it is context, never a signal to copy blindly. Desk: the options desk
Words are half the job.
The other half is watching them used on a live tape.