Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Nov 4, 6:39 PM ET

CRC max pain

Spot (delayed)$48.34
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe delayed quote, underlying price
Fieldcurrent_price
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 4, 6:39 PM ET
HowAbout 15 minutes delayed.
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Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$55
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceMax pain from Cboe open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 4, 6:39 PM ET
HowThe settle strike with the smallest total payout to option holders for the 2027-04-16 expiration, over 14 strikes carrying 256 open contracts. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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+13.8% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$8.9
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceAt-the-money straddle midpoint
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 4, 6:39 PM ET
HowCall midpoint plus put midpoint at the strike nearest spot for the 2027-04-16 expiration = 8.90 USD, 18.4% of 48.34 spot.
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±18.4% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI0.72
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourcePut open interest divided by call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 4, 6:39 PM ET
How107 put contracts / 149 call contracts = 0.72 for the 2027-04-16 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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107 puts / 149 calls
Call wall$80
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 4, 6:39 PM ET
How80.00 for the 2027-04-16 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$42.5
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most put open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 4, 6:39 PM ET
How42.50 for the 2027-04-16 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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largest put OI
IV3039.0%
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe 30-day implied volatility for the underlying
Fieldiv30
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 4, 6:39 PM ET
HowAs Cboe publishes it; not computed by us.
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30-day implied vol
Net GEX−$2K
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceNet gamma exposure from Cboe greeks and open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 4, 6:39 PM ET
HowOver every strike with open interest for the 2027-04-16 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

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 20$50+3.4%15d
Fri, Dec 18one strike decides43d
Fri, Jan 15$52.5+8.6%71d
Fri, Apr 16$55+13.8%162d
Fri, Jul 16too thin253d
Fri, Oct 15too thin344d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot55304050607080$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 — 55 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot553037.547.557.570100100
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)CRC 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

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot30405060708071%34%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 34.7% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot3037.547.557.570+$4K−$4K
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
0.95-0.00300.00710.04-0.01-0.07
0.93-0.0132.50.00950.05-0.01-0.09
0.90-0.01350.01260.06-0.01-0.12
0.86-0.0137.50.01630.07-0.01-0.15
0.76-0.0142.50.02560.10-0.01-0.26
0.69-0.01450.03040.11-0.01-0.33
0.61-0.0147.50.03420.12-0.01-0.41
0.52-0.01500.03620.13-0.01-0.51
0.36-0.01550.03390.12-0.01-0.68
0.30-0.0157.50.03070.11-0.01-0.75
0.20-0.0162.50.02380.09-0.01-0.85
0.17-0.01650.02070.08-0.01-0.89
0.12-0.01700.01580.07-0.00-0.94
0.07-0.01800.00960.04not quoted-0.98

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

spot32.545556575953120
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

spot22.53547.56072.5901K1K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 3K call contracts, 1K 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: CRC workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk