Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 26, 1:22 AM ET

DNLI max pain

Spot (delayed)$18.49
Max pain · Fri, Dec 18$20+8.2% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$3.86±20.8% by Fri, Dec 18
Put/Call OI2.015K puts / 3K calls
Call wall$22.5largest call OI
Put wall$10largest put OI
IV3083.9%30-day implied vol
Net GEX−$17Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $10

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$17.5-5.4%25d
Fri, Dec 18$20+8.2%53d
Fri, Mar 19$22.5+21.7%144d
Thu, Jun 17$25+35.2%234d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot2081421273440$5M$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 — 20 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Dec 18

spot207.512.517.522.530402K2K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)DNLI open contracts per strike for Fri, Dec 18.

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 18

spot207.512.517.522.5304011
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Dec 18

spot81421273440201%62%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 66.6% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Dec 18

spotflip 107.512.517.522.53040+$9K−$9K
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 18

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.98-0.007.50.00480.00-0.00-0.02
0.96-0.01100.01140.01-0.01-0.04
0.91-0.0112.50.02630.01-0.01-0.09
0.80-0.01150.05020.02-0.01-0.20
0.63-0.0217.50.06970.03-0.02-0.37
0.45-0.02200.07290.03-0.02-0.55
0.31-0.0222.50.06370.03-0.02-0.70
0.20-0.01250.05010.02-0.01-0.80
0.09-0.01300.02680.01-0.01-0.93
0.04-0.00350.01330.01-0.00-0.98
0.02-0.00400.00640.000.00-1.00

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

spot7.512.517.522.530402K0
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

spot2.51017.525402K2K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 5K call contracts, 8K 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: DNLI workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk