Tilt

What It Shows

Tilt measures the skew of the volatility smile — the degree to which put-side implied volatility is bid relative to call-side implied volatility (or vice versa). A positive tilt means puts are expensive relative to calls; a negative tilt means calls are leading.

Skewbot shows tilt separately for dealer flow and paper flow, so you can see whether the skew is being driven by market makers hedging their book or by directional client demand.

Dealer vs. Paper

Dealer — Reflects the net positioning of market makers. Dealers are typically short premium and hedge their delta exposure dynamically. When dealer tilt shifts, it often signals that market makers are repositioning their hedges.

Paper — Reflects the flow from institutional and retail participants. Paper tilt rising means clients are actively buying put protection or call upside in size.

When dealer and paper tilt diverge, it can indicate a transfer of risk. When they move together, the directional pressure is more uniform across the market.

Reading the Chart

The y-axis represents the tilt scalar — positive means put vol is elevated relative to call vol, negative means the reverse. The zero line represents a symmetric smile.

Key signals to watch:

• Tilt rising — Put vol bid; market is pricing downside more aggressively
• Tilt falling — Call vol bid; market is repricing for upside or a squeeze
• Dealer and paper diverging — One side absorbing risk from the other
• Rapid tilt moves — Often coincide with sharp underlying moves or event-driven flows

DTE Filter

Tilt defaults to the nearest expiration (0DTE when available). Different expirations can have dramatically different tilt profiles — near-term expirations are more sensitive to same-day moves, while longer-dated tilt reflects structural hedging flows.