Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 26, 4:53 PM ET

GRMN max pain

Spot (delayed)$292.23
Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$290-0.8% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$52.5±18.0% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI1.1344 puts / 39 calls
Call wall$330largest call OI
Put wall$220largest put OI
IV3046.4%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$4Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $290

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$280-4.2%25d
Fri, Dec 18$240-17.9%53d
Fri, Jan 15$280-4.2%81d
Fri, Feb 19$300+2.7%116d
Fri, Apr 16$290-0.8%172d
Fri, May 21$300+2.7%207d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot290210240270300330360$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 — 290 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot2902102502803103402525
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)GRMN 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

spot29021025028031034011
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot21024027030033036037%30%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 33.1% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spotflip 290210250280310340+$5K−$5K
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
0.93-0.022100.00180.28-0.03-0.07
0.90-0.032200.00230.35-0.04-0.10
0.87-0.032300.00290.42-0.04-0.13
0.79-0.052500.00400.57-0.06-0.21
0.75-0.062600.00460.64-0.06-0.26
0.69-0.062700.00510.70-0.07-0.31
0.64-0.072800.00560.74-0.07-0.37
0.58-0.072900.00590.78-0.07-0.43
0.52-0.073000.00610.79-0.07-0.49
0.46-0.073100.00620.79-0.07-0.55
0.40-0.073200.00610.77-0.07-0.61
0.35-0.073300.00590.74-0.07-0.67
0.30-0.063400.00550.69-0.06-0.73
0.21-0.053600.00460.57-0.05-0.82

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

spot1001551902403003606950
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

spot1001401802403204002K2K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 6K call contracts, 4K 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: GRMN workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk