Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 26, 1:24 AM ET

DMRC max pain

Spot (delayed)$7.27
Max pain · Fri, Jan 15$2.5-65.6% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$3±41.3% by Fri, Jan 15
Put/Call OI0.0112 puts / 2K calls
Call wall$10largest call OI
Put wall$5largest put OI
IV30123.0%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$7Kper 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$7.5+3.2%25d
Fri, Dec 18$7.5+3.2%53d
Fri, Jan 15$2.5-65.6%81d
Fri, Mar 19$5-31.2%144d
Thu, Jun 17$7.5+3.2%234d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot2.53814192530$3M$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 — 2.5 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Jan 15

spot2.52.57.512.52025550550
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)DMRC open contracts per strike for Fri, Jan 15.

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, Jan 15

spot2.52.57.512.5202511
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Jan 15

spot51015202530228%96%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 107.3% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Jan 15

spot2.57.512.52025+$3K−$3K
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, Jan 15

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.96-0.002.50.01520.00-0.00-0.04
0.84-0.0150.06180.01-0.01-0.17
0.59-0.017.50.10600.01-0.01-0.42
0.40-0.01100.09570.01-0.01-0.62
0.29-0.0112.50.07720.01-0.01-0.72
0.24-0.01150.06350.01-0.01-0.78
0.17-0.01200.04680.01-0.01-0.85
0.15-0.0122.50.04140.01-0.01-0.87
0.14-0.01250.03730.01-0.01-0.89
0.12-0.01300.03120.01-0.01-0.92

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

spot2.57.512.517.522.5302K0
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

spot2.57.512.517.522.5302K2K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 5K call contracts, 277 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: DMRC workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk