HowThe settle strike with the smallest total payout to option holders for the 2026-12-31 expiration, over 36 strikes carrying 56,241 open contracts. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
SourcePut open interest divided by call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 9:57 AM ET
How49,619 put contracts / 6,622 call contracts = 7.49 for the 2026-12-31 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
SourceNet gamma exposure from Cboe greeks and open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 9:57 AM ET
HowOver every strike with open interest for the 2026-12-31 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.
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.
■ 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 — 62 — is the max pain price.
Open interest by strike · Thu, Dec 31
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)EEM open contracts per strike for Thu, Dec 31.
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 · Thu, Dec 31
Implied volatility by strike · Thu, Dec 31
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 28.3% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.
Gamma exposure by strike · Thu, Dec 31
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 · Thu, Dec 31
Call Δ
Call Θ
Strike
Γ
Vega
Put Θ
Put Δ
0.85
-0.02
54
0.0284
0.06
-0.02
-0.16
0.83
-0.02
55
0.0328
0.06
-0.02
-0.19
0.80
-0.02
56
0.0375
0.07
-0.02
-0.22
0.76
-0.02
57
0.0425
0.07
-0.02
-0.26
0.72
-0.02
58
0.0476
0.08
-0.02
-0.30
0.67
-0.02
59
0.0524
0.09
-0.02
-0.35
0.62
-0.02
60
0.0565
0.09
-0.02
-0.40
0.56
-0.02
61
0.0597
0.10
-0.02
-0.46
0.50
-0.02
62
0.0614
0.10
-0.02
-0.52
0.44
-0.02
63
0.0614
0.10
-0.02
-0.58
0.38
-0.02
64
0.0597
0.09
-0.02
-0.64
0.32
-0.02
65
0.0565
0.09
-0.02
-0.70
0.27
-0.02
66
0.0521
0.08
-0.02
-0.75
0.22
-0.02
67
0.0470
0.07
-0.01
-0.79
0.18
-0.01
68
0.0416
0.07
-0.01
-0.83
Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 15 strikes around the money — all 36 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.
Stacked — layer the expirations
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.
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.