Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 24, 1:25 AM ET

AKTS max pain

Spot (delayed)$15.8
Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$15-5.1% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$8.53±54.0% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI0.2126 puts / 126 calls
Call wall$22.5largest call OI
Put wall$15largest put OI
IV30112.4%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$751per 1% move · flip ≈ $15

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 · FOMC decision Wed, Dec 9 · CPI release Thu, Dec 10 — macro releases historically overwhelm pinning effects; max pain reads weakest in event weeks.

Max pain levels

ExpiryMax painvs spotDTE
Fri, Nov 20$15-5.1%27d
Fri, Dec 18$15-5.1%55d
Fri, Jan 15$22.5+42.4%83d
Fri, Apr 16$15-5.1%174d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot15101520253035$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 — 15 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot15101522.5303838
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)AKTS open contracts per strike for Fri, Apr 16.

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, Apr 16

spot15101522.53011
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot101520253035138%95%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 102.8% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spotflip 15101522.530+$281−$281
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, Apr 16

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.84-0.01100.01970.03-0.01-0.16
0.76-0.0112.50.02710.03-0.01-0.24
0.68-0.01150.03240.04-0.01-0.33
0.52-0.01200.03530.04-0.01-0.48
0.47-0.0122.50.03440.04-0.01-0.55
0.42-0.01250.03300.04-0.01-0.60
0.35-0.01300.02970.04-0.01-0.67
0.30-0.01350.02670.04-0.01-0.73

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

spot152030405210
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

spot2.51017.52540521521
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 791 call contracts, 139 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: AKTS workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk