Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 27, 6:02 AM ET

CALX max pain

Spot (delayed)$37.68
Max pain · Fri, Jan 15$35-7.1% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$6.05±16.1% by Fri, Jan 15
Put/Call OI0.31177 puts / 579 calls
Call wall$42.5largest call OI
Put wall$35largest put OI
IV3057.7%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$24Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $30

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$32.5-13.7%24d
Fri, Dec 18$32.5-13.7%52d
Fri, Jan 15$35-7.1%80d
Fri, Feb 19$35-7.1%115d
Fri, Apr 16$27.5-27.0%171d
Fri, May 21$35-7.1%206d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot35233038455360$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 — 35 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Jan 15

spot3522.53037.54555161161
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)CALX open contracts per strike for Fri, Jan 15.

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, Jan 15

spot3522.53037.5455555
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Jan 15

spot23303845536082%38%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 43.2% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Jan 15

spotflip 3022.53037.54555+$10K−$10K
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, Jan 15

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.97-0.0122.50.00940.01-0.01-0.04
0.94-0.01250.01320.02-0.01-0.07
0.90-0.0127.50.01890.03-0.01-0.10
0.84-0.01300.02650.04-0.01-0.16
0.76-0.0232.50.03550.05-0.02-0.23
0.66-0.02350.04410.06-0.02-0.33
0.54-0.0237.50.04930.07-0.02-0.45
0.42-0.02400.04900.07-0.02-0.57
0.31-0.0242.50.04390.06-0.02-0.67
0.23-0.01450.03690.05-0.01-0.75
0.17-0.0147.50.03000.05-0.01-0.81
0.13-0.01500.02410.04-0.01-0.85
0.08-0.01550.01580.03-0.01-0.90
0.06-0.01600.01080.02-0.01-0.93

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

spot2027.53542.5504560
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

spot17.52532.54047.560489489
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 1K call contracts, 302 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: CALX workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk