Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Sep 25, 1:52 AM ET

IA max pain

Spot (delayed)$18.86
Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$17.5-7.2% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$8.25±43.7% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI0.9768 puts / 70 calls
Call wall$30largest call OI
Put wall$15largest put OI
IV3068.0%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$162per 1% move · flip ≈ $30

Event risk before this expiration: Jobs report Fri, Oct 2 · CPI release Wed, Oct 14 · 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, Oct 16$20+6.0%21d
Fri, Nov 20$15-20.5%56d
Fri, Jan 15$17.5-7.2%112d
Fri, Apr 16$17.5-7.2%203d
Fri, Jul 16$10-47.0%294d
Fri, Oct 15$15-20.5%385d
Fri, Dec 17$10-47.0%448d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot17.5131722263135$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 — 17.5 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot17.512.517.522.5305757
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)IA 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

spot17.512.517.522.53011
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot13172226313583%70%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 73.6% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spotflip 3012.517.522.530+$598−$598
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
0.82-0.0112.50.02290.04-0.01-0.17
0.73-0.01150.02990.04-0.01-0.25
0.64-0.0117.50.03500.05-0.01-0.34
0.55-0.01200.03770.05-0.01-0.44
0.46-0.0122.50.03800.05-0.01-0.52
0.39-0.01250.03670.05-0.01-0.60
0.28-0.01300.03180.05-0.01-0.71
0.21-0.01350.02630.04-0.01-0.80

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

spot2.512.517.522.530405080
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

spot2.51017.52540647647
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 3K call contracts, 2K 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: IA workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk