Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Nov 10, 7:17 PM ET

FPS max pain

Spot (delayed)$21.64
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe delayed quote, underlying price
Fieldcurrent_price
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 7:17 PM ET
HowAbout 15 minutes delayed.
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Max pain · Fri, Dec 4$23
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceMax pain from Cboe open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 7:17 PM ET
HowThe settle strike with the smallest total payout to option holders for the 2026-12-04 expiration, over 25 strikes carrying 926 open contracts. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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+6.3% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$5.35
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceAt-the-money straddle midpoint
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 7:17 PM ET
HowCall midpoint plus put midpoint at the strike nearest spot for the 2026-12-04 expiration = 5.35 USD, 24.7% of 21.64 spot.
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±24.7% by Fri, Dec 4
Put/Call OI0.28
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourcePut open interest divided by call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 7:17 PM ET
How202 put contracts / 724 call contracts = 0.28 for the 2026-12-04 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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202 puts / 724 calls
Call wall$25
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 7:17 PM ET
How25.00 for the 2026-12-04 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$24
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most put open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 7:17 PM ET
How24.00 for the 2026-12-04 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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largest put OI
IV30117.1%
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe 30-day implied volatility for the underlying
Fieldiv30
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 7:17 PM ET
HowAs Cboe publishes it; not computed by us.
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30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$11K
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceNet gamma exposure from Cboe greeks and open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 7:17 PM ET
HowOver every strike with open interest for the 2026-12-04 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 · flip ≈ $23

Event risk before this expiration: 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, Nov 13$20.5-5.3%3d
Fri, Nov 20$27.5+27.1%10d
Fri, Nov 27one strike decides17d
Fri, Dec 4$23+6.3%24d
Fri, Dec 11$23+6.3%31d
Fri, Dec 18one strike decides38d
Fri, Jan 15$32.5+50.2%66d
Fri, Feb 19one strike decides101d
Fri, May 21one strike decides192d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot23152025303540$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 — 23 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Dec 4

spot231520253036156156
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)FPS 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

spot231217222427292525
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Dec 4

spot152025303540176%77%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 120.5% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Dec 4

spotflip 23151923273136+$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, Dec 4

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.88-0.03150.02550.01-0.03-0.11
0.85-0.04160.03150.01-0.04-0.15
0.81-0.04170.03760.01-0.04-0.19
0.76-0.04180.04360.02-0.05-0.24
0.71-0.05190.04890.02-0.05-0.29
0.65-0.05200.05330.02-0.05-0.35
0.59-0.06210.05660.02-0.06-0.40
0.54-0.06220.05850.02-0.06-0.46
0.48-0.06230.05900.02-0.06-0.52
0.42-0.06240.05830.02-0.06-0.57
0.37-0.05250.05650.02-0.05-0.63
0.33-0.05260.05390.02-0.05-0.67
0.28-0.05270.05060.02-0.05-0.71
0.25-0.04280.04700.02-0.04-0.75
0.21-0.04290.04320.02-0.04-0.79

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 15 strikes around the money — all 25 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot1220.525.53137.57510K0
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

spot2.515.52228.53547.517K17K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 133K call contracts, 62K 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: FPS workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk