Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 25, 1:56 AM ET

CENX max pain

Spot (delayed)$31.71
Max pain · Thu, Jun 17$25-21.2% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$12.7±40.0% by Thu, Jun 17
Put/Call OI0.3115 puts / 48 calls
Call wall$50largest call OI
Put wall$20largest put OI
IV3067.5%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$847per 1% move · flip ≈ $50

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$35+10.4%26d
Fri, Dec 18$37.5+18.3%54d
Fri, Jan 15$45+41.9%82d
Fri, Mar 19$40+26.1%145d
Thu, Jun 17$25-21.2%235d
Fri, Jan 21$42+32.4%453d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot25182431374450$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 — 25 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Thu, Jun 17

spot2517.52532.537.54242
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)CENX open contracts per strike for Thu, Jun 17.

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 · Thu, Jun 17

spot2517.52532.537.511
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Thu, Jun 17

spot18243137445076%61%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 62.5% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Thu, Jun 17

spotflip 5017.52532.537.5+$904−$904
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 · Thu, Jun 17

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.92-0.0117.50.00870.04-0.01-0.09
0.89-0.01200.01180.05-0.01-0.13
0.79-0.01250.01820.08-0.01-0.23
0.67-0.01300.02320.09-0.01-0.35
0.61-0.0132.50.02470.10-0.01-0.41
0.55-0.01350.02560.10-0.01-0.48
0.49-0.0137.50.02580.10-0.01-0.54
0.28-0.01500.02140.09-0.01-0.78

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

spot3203242558512K0
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

spot317253747.58012K12K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 40K call contracts, 15K 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: CENX workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk