Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 27, 12:28 AM ET

GHRS max pain

Spot (delayed)$19.18
Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$25+30.3% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$6.75±35.2% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI0.6515 puts / 23 calls
Call wall$45largest call OI
Put wall$35largest put OI
IV3080.1%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$55per 1% move · flip ≈ $20

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$22.5+17.3%25d
Fri, Jan 15$20+4.3%81d
Fri, Apr 16$25+30.3%172d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot25182329344045$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 — 25 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot2517.522.5304066
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)GHRS 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

spot2517.522.5304033
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot182329344045138%62%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 64.4% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spotflip 2017.5253545+$42−$42
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
0.65-0.0117.50.04130.05-0.01-0.33
0.53-0.01200.04640.05-0.01-0.45
0.43-0.0122.50.04440.05-0.01-0.54
0.36-0.01250.04000.05-0.01-0.61
0.27-0.01300.03180.04-0.01-0.70
0.22-0.01350.02600.04-0.01-0.76
0.18-0.01400.02190.04-0.01-0.80
0.16-0.01450.01890.03-0.01-0.83

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

spot12.517.522.530401020
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

spot2.51017.52540102102
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 176 call contracts, 56 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: GHRS workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk