Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Nov 3, 6:05 AM ET

CELH max pain

Spot (delayed)$29.52
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe delayed quote, underlying price
Fieldcurrent_price
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 6:05 AM ET
HowAbout 15 minutes delayed.
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Max pain · Fri, Mar 19$30
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceMax pain from Cboe open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 6:05 AM ET
HowThe settle strike with the smallest total payout to option holders for the 2027-03-19 expiration, over 16 strikes carrying 19,200 open contracts. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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+1.6% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$8.65
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceAt-the-money straddle midpoint
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 6:05 AM ET
HowCall midpoint plus put midpoint at the strike nearest spot for the 2027-03-19 expiration = 8.65 USD, 29.3% of 29.52 spot.
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±29.3% by Fri, Mar 19
Put/Call OI0.44
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourcePut open interest divided by call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 6:05 AM ET
How5,859 put contracts / 13,341 call contracts = 0.44 for the 2027-03-19 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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6K puts / 13K calls
Call wall$35
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 6:05 AM ET
How35.00 for the 2027-03-19 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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largest call OI
Put wall$22.5
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most put open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 6:05 AM ET
How22.50 for the 2027-03-19 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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largest put OI
IV3068.1%
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe 30-day implied volatility for the underlying
Fieldiv30
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 6:05 AM ET
HowAs Cboe publishes it; not computed by us.
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30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$223K
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceNet gamma exposure from Cboe greeks and open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 6:05 AM ET
HowOver every strike with open interest for the 2027-03-19 expiration: (call gamma × call OI minus put gamma × put OI) × 100 × spot² × 1%, summed. Calls count as positive and puts as negative, a convention about who holds the other side, not a measurement.
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per 1% move · flip ≈ $35

Event risk before this expiration: 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 6$29-1.8%3d
Fri, Nov 13$29-1.8%10d
Fri, Nov 20$29.5-0.1%17d
Fri, Nov 27$28-5.1%24d
Fri, Dec 4$28-5.1%31d
Fri, Dec 11$29-1.8%38d
Fri, Dec 18$30+1.6%45d
Fri, Jan 15$32.5+10.1%73d
Fri, Mar 19$30+1.6%136d
Fri, Apr 16$30+1.6%164d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot30132028354350$17M$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 — 30 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Mar 19

spot3012.52027.53542.5503K3K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)CELH open contracts per strike for Fri, Mar 19.

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, Mar 19

spot3017.52532.54047.59696
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Mar 19

spot13202835435089%50%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 59.5% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Mar 19

spotflip 3512.52027.53542.550+$97K−$97K
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, Mar 19

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.980.0012.50.00300.01-0.00-0.02
0.97-0.00150.00540.01-0.00-0.03
0.94-0.0017.50.00940.02-0.01-0.06
0.90-0.01200.01510.03-0.01-0.10
0.84-0.0122.50.02160.04-0.01-0.16
0.77-0.01250.02780.06-0.01-0.24
0.68-0.0127.50.03280.07-0.01-0.33
0.59-0.01300.03600.07-0.01-0.42
0.50-0.0132.50.03720.07-0.02-0.51
0.42-0.01350.03660.07-0.01-0.59
0.34-0.0137.50.03450.07-0.01-0.67
0.28-0.01400.03160.06-0.01-0.74
0.23-0.0142.50.02820.06-0.01-0.80
0.18-0.01450.02460.05-0.01-0.85
0.15-0.0147.50.02130.04-0.01-0.89

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 15 strikes around the money — all 16 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot1722.52629.53336.56K0
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

spot12.52328.53442.57060K60K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 437K call contracts, 163K 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.

Max pain, walls and gamma print only when an expiration holds at least 100 open contracts across 5 strikes, and max pain also needs to stay within 5% of spot when its single heaviest strike is removed. Below that the expiration reads as thin rather than printing a level one trade could move.

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: CELH workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk