Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Aug 13, 1:34 AM ET

ACIU max pain

Spot (delayed)$2.5
Max pain · Fri, Nov 20$2.5+0.0% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$1±40.0% by Fri, Nov 20
Put/Call OI0.55581 puts / 1K calls
Call wall$5largest call OI
Put wall$2.5largest put OI
IV3065.2%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$287per 1% move · flip ≈ $5

Event risk before this expiration: Jobs report Fri, Sep 4 · CPI release Fri, Sep 11 · FOMC decision Wed, Sep 16 · Jobs report Fri, Oct 2 · CPI release Wed, Oct 14 · FOMC decision Wed, Oct 28 · Jobs report Fri, Nov 6 · CPI release Tue, Nov 10 — macro releases historically overwhelm pinning effects; max pain reads weakest in event weeks.

Max pain levels

ExpiryMax painvs spotDTE
Fri, Aug 21$2.5+0.0%8d
Fri, Sep 18$2.5+0.0%36d
Fri, Nov 20$2.5+0.0%99d
Fri, Feb 19$2.5+0.0%190d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot2.5345678$1M$0
■ put-side pain■ call-side painTotal payout option writers would owe at each settle price (both sides, all open interest, ×100 shares) — low settles hurt put writers, high settles hurt call writers. The minimum — 2.5 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Nov 20

spot2.52.557.5718718
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)ACIU open contracts per strike for Fri, Nov 20.

Open-interest change — building vs unwinding

Needs two observed snapshot days for this expiration — the comparison appears automatically once the next weekday snapshot lands. We diff real observations only; nothing is estimated.

Volume by strike · Fri, Nov 20

spot2.52.557.52525
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Nov 20

spotflip 52.557.5+$879$879
Net dealer gamma per strike, in dollars per 1% move, assuming the standard convention (dealers long calls, short puts) — an assumption, not an observation. Above the amber flip level hedging tends to dampen moves; below it, to amplify them.

Greeks by strike · Fri, Nov 20

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.67-0.002.50.32430.01-0.00-0.36
0.22-0.0050.20220.00-0.00-0.84
0.12-0.007.50.11520.000.00-0.95

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot2.557.52K0
Call open interest per strike, stacked across the checked expirations — each color is one expiry. Strikes are pruned to the liquid center of each chain.

All expirations combined — total open interest

spot2.557.53K3K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 4K call contracts, 987 put contracts open.

Reading this honestly

Max pain is arithmetic, not prophecy: the settle price that would minimize what option writers pay out at expiration, computed from open interest alone. Prices sometimes gravitate toward heavy strikes into expiry — dealer hedging is a real flow — but the evidence that max pain predicts settlement better than chance is mixed, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Use it as a map of where positioning is stacked, next to the fundamentals and the earnings calendar, not as a target.

Data: Cboe delayed public feed (~15 minutes), refreshed here about every 15 minutes. Open interest itself updates once daily, before the open. Educational information, not investment advice.

Keep going: ACIU workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk