Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 26, 2:35 AM ET

GCT max pain

Spot (delayed)$58.3
Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$40-31.4% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$20.95±35.9% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI0.33105 puts / 314 calls
Call wall$35largest call OI
Put wall$40largest put OI
IV3076.1%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$9Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $35

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$55-5.7%25d
Fri, Dec 18$60+2.9%53d
Fri, Jan 15$20-65.7%81d
Fri, Apr 16$40-31.4%172d
Fri, Jan 21$35-40.0%452d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot40253749617385$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 — 40 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot4025405570857777
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)GCT open contracts per strike for Fri, Apr 16.

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, Apr 16

spot40254055708544
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot25374961738579%61%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 65.0% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spotflip 352540557085+$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, Apr 16

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.97-0.00250.00210.03-0.01-0.03
0.95-0.01300.00360.04-0.01-0.05
0.92-0.01350.00570.06-0.01-0.09
0.87-0.01400.00830.09-0.02-0.14
0.80-0.02450.01080.11-0.02-0.20
0.73-0.02500.01300.13-0.02-0.27
0.66-0.03550.01460.15-0.03-0.35
0.58-0.03600.01550.16-0.03-0.43
0.51-0.03650.01580.16-0.03-0.51
0.44-0.03700.01560.16-0.03-0.58
0.38-0.03750.01500.15-0.03-0.64
0.32-0.03800.01420.14-0.03-0.70
0.28-0.02850.01310.13-0.03-0.75

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

spot2.512.522.54060803K0
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

spot2.512.522.54060806K6K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 18K 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: GCT workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk