Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 26, 1:55 AM ET

CEPU max pain

Spot (delayed)$12.1
Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$12.5+3.3% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$4.1±33.9% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI0.1013 puts / 132 calls
Call wall$15largest call OI
Put wall$12.5largest put OI
IV3060.6%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$1Kper 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 · 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$15+24.0%25d
Fri, Dec 18$15+24.0%53d
Fri, Jan 15$12.5+3.3%81d
Fri, Apr 16$12.5+3.3%172d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot12.55913172125$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 — 12.5 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot12.5512.517.525110110
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)CEPU 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

spot12.5512.517.52511
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot101316192225118%46%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 67.0% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot512.517.525+$1K−$1K
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
0.92-0.0050.01380.01-0.00-0.07
0.74-0.01100.05760.03-0.01-0.25
0.54-0.0112.50.08380.03-0.01-0.45
0.38-0.01150.07480.03-0.01-0.61
0.29-0.0117.50.05950.03-0.01-0.70
0.24-0.01200.04870.03-0.01-0.75
0.19-0.01250.03620.02-0.01-0.81

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

spot1012.51517.52022.56050
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

spot2.57.512.517.522.53K3K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 827 call contracts, 4K 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: CEPU workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk