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

CALX max pain

Spot (delayed)$37.68
Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$27.5-27.0% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$9.65±25.6% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI0.365 puts / 14 calls
Call wall$40largest call OI
Put wall$22.5largest put OI
IV3057.7%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$526per 1% move · flip ≈ $40

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

spot27.5232936424955$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 — 27.5 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot27.522.527.5404599
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)CALX 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

spot27.522.527.5404511
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot23293642495568%46%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 47.8% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spotflip 4022.527.54045+$414−$414
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
0.92-0.0022.50.00950.03-0.01-0.07
0.89-0.01250.01290.05-0.01-0.10
0.84-0.0127.50.01690.06-0.01-0.15
0.57-0.0137.50.03140.10-0.01-0.42
0.49-0.01400.03240.10-0.01-0.50
0.41-0.0142.50.03200.10-0.01-0.57
0.35-0.01450.03040.10-0.01-0.65
0.16-0.01550.01970.06-0.01-0.84

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