Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 26, 10:04 AM ET

CDNS max pain

Spot (delayed)$316.5
Max pain · Fri, Dec 4$320+1.1% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$42.25±13.3% by Fri, Dec 4
Put/Call OI8.008 puts / 1 calls
Call wall$320largest call OI
Put wall$305largest put OI
IV3049.1%30-day implied vol
Net GEX−$4Kper 1% move

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$322.5+1.9%4d
Fri, Nov 6$315-0.5%11d
Fri, Nov 13$335+5.8%18d
Fri, Nov 20$320+1.1%25d
Fri, Nov 27$325+2.7%32d
Fri, Dec 4$320+1.1%39d
Fri, Dec 18$320+1.1%53d
Fri, Jan 15$350+10.6%81d
Fri, Feb 19$310-2.1%116d
Fri, Mar 19$320+1.1%144d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot320270285300315330345$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 — 320 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Dec 4

spot32027030531031532034533
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)CDNS 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

spot32027030531031532034511
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Dec 4

spot27028530031533034553%47%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 49.4% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Dec 4

spot270305310315320345+$2K−$2K
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
0.84-0.172700.00420.26-0.17-0.16
0.63-0.243050.00710.41-0.24-0.37
0.59-0.243100.00740.42-0.24-0.41
0.56-0.243150.00760.42-0.25-0.45
0.52-0.243200.00770.43-0.25-0.48
0.34-0.223450.00710.39-0.23-0.67

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

spot275312.5332.5352.53854251420
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

spot1602302953403904903K3K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 28K call contracts, 24K 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: CDNS workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk