NVDA Trapped in Gamma Prison: 170 Put Wall Saves Us, 190 Call Wall Fucks Us – OPEX Escape Next Week
Anyone who's been bagholding $NVIDIA(NVDA)$ the past 2 months knows the pain. Market rips, AI hype keeps pumping, yet this bitch refuses to move. 170 is the magical floor it bounces off like it's on springs, 190 is the invisible ceiling that smacks it back down every time it gets close. Feels cursed, right? Nah, it's not some spooky Chinese wizard—it's just dealer gamma pinning doing its thing. $GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA Daily ETF(NVDL)$ $GraniteShares 2x Short NVDA Daily ETF(NVD)$ $Tradr 1.5X Short NVDA Daily ETF(NVDS)$
The real villains aren't Citadel or whatever boogeyman you blame. It's the massive walls of open interest in the options chain.
190 Call Wall: Holy fuckton of calls stacked up there. Price grinds toward 190 → dealers hedge their gamma exposure by shorting spot shares → instant sell pressure → price gets yeeted back down. Classic negative gamma pin.
170 Put Wall: Giant pile of puts sitting underneath. Price dips toward 170 → dealers have to buy shares to hedge → auto-buy support kicks in → instant bounce. Positive gamma cushion for the dip buyers.
So what happens? Degens FOMO chase highs above 190 get rekt, panic sellers at 170 get saved and then FOMO back in. Meanwhile the stock just chops sideways in this gamma prison, bleeding theta from both sides. Sellers of strangles/iron condors are laughing to the bank while we provide premium like good little retail liquidity.
The real alpha isn't some fancy TA level—it's time.
Mid-January (third Friday, aka OPEX on Jan 16/17 2026) these monster Jan monthlies expire. All that juicy OI in the 170P and 190C walls either gets exercised or turns to zero → walls collapse → gamma squeeze potential either way.
After that, NVDA finally gets to pick a direction without the dealers mechanically pinning it. Could violent breakout up on short covering + momentum, or flush lower if the put support vanishes and weak hands panic.
My simple smoothbrain play right now:
Treat it as a range-bound shitcoin for the next few days/1 week.
Fade the extremes: Take profits/lighten up near 190 resistance, nibble dips/add near 170 support.
Do NOT YOLO directional in the middle of the range — you'll just pay theta tax forever.
Wait for OPEX to clear the decks. Watch what happens when the walls fall—that's when you actually size up for the real trend move.
Positions or GTFO, but don't get caught holding the bag when the gamma rubber band snaps.
Thoughts? Anyone else seeing the same walls or am I regarded?
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