Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 27, 2:45 PM ET

DKNG max pain

Spot (delayed)$20.61
Max pain · Fri, Dec 4$18-12.6% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$3.33±16.2% by Fri, Dec 4
Put/Call OI0.092 puts / 22 calls
Call wall$25largest call OI
Put wall$18largest put OI
IV3064.4%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$648per 1% move · flip ≈ $19

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$20-2.9%3d
Fri, Nov 6$20-2.9%10d
Fri, Nov 13$19-7.8%17d
Fri, Nov 20$20-2.9%24d
Fri, Nov 27$20-2.9%31d
Fri, Dec 4$18-12.6%38d
Fri, Dec 18$25+21.3%52d
Fri, Jan 15$25+21.3%80d
Fri, Feb 19$20-2.9%115d
Fri, Mar 19$17.5-15.1%143d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot18182022252729$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 — 18 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Dec 4

spot18182122.5252988
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)DKNG 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

spot18182122.5252911
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Dec 4

spot18202225272986%58%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 62.7% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Dec 4

spotflip 19182122.52529+$230−$230
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
0.77-0.02180.06630.02-0.02-0.23
0.69-0.02190.07940.02-0.02-0.31
0.51-0.02210.09470.03-0.02-0.49
0.47-0.0221.50.09510.03-0.02-0.54
0.38-0.0222.50.09160.03-0.02-0.63
0.27-0.02240.07860.02-0.02-0.74
0.20-0.01250.06780.02-0.01-0.80
0.12-0.01270.04710.01-0.01-0.89
0.08-0.01290.03240.01-0.01-0.93

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

spot1016.52023.5273410K0
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

spot7.516.52227.537.555175K175K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 743K call contracts, 226K 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: DKNG workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk