Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 27, 1:37 PM ET

AFL max pain

Spot (delayed)$120.93
Max pain · Fri, Dec 4$123+1.7% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$7.1±5.9% by Fri, Dec 4
Put/Call OI0.139 puts / 67 calls
Call wall$125largest call OI
Put wall$125largest put OI
IV3023.3%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$36Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $119

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

Max pain levels

ExpiryMax painvs spotDTE
Fri, Oct 30$116-4.1%3d
Fri, Nov 6$116-4.1%10d
Fri, Nov 13$115-4.9%17d
Fri, Nov 20$120-0.8%24d
Fri, Nov 27$123+1.7%31d
Fri, Dec 4$123+1.7%38d
Fri, Dec 18$115-4.9%52d
Fri, Jan 15$115-4.9%80d
Fri, Feb 19$105-13.2%115d
Fri, Mar 19$125+3.4%143d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot123114117120122125128$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 — 123 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Dec 4

spot1231141191221251285959
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)AFL open contracts per strike for Fri, Dec 4.

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, Dec 4

spot12311411912212512822
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Dec 4

spot11411712012212512826%18%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 22.3% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Dec 4

spotflip 119114119122125128+$35K−$35K
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, Dec 4

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.78-0.041140.02960.12-0.04-0.23
0.75-0.041150.03240.13-0.04-0.26
0.65-0.051180.04040.14-0.05-0.36
0.61-0.051190.04270.15-0.05-0.40
0.57-0.051200.04450.15-0.05-0.45
0.53-0.051210.04570.16-0.05-0.49
0.48-0.051220.04610.16-0.05-0.54
0.43-0.041230.04580.15-0.04-0.58
0.39-0.041240.04470.15-0.04-0.63
0.35-0.041250.04300.15-0.04-0.67
0.31-0.041260.04070.14-0.04-0.71
0.27-0.041270.03810.13-0.04-0.75
0.24-0.041280.03520.12-0.03-0.78

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

spot801091141191241292380
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

spot50991091191291559K9K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 35K call contracts, 22K 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: AFL workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk