Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Nov 2, 6:13 PM ET

INFQ max pain

Spot (delayed)$8.17
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe delayed quote, underlying price
Fieldcurrent_price
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 6:13 PM ET
HowAbout 15 minutes delayed.
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Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$10
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceMax pain from Cboe open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 6:13 PM ET
HowThe settle strike with the smallest total payout to option holders for the 2027-04-16 expiration, over 23 strikes carrying 1,793 open contracts. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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+22.4% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$3.55
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceAt-the-money straddle midpoint
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 6:13 PM ET
HowCall midpoint plus put midpoint at the strike nearest spot for the 2027-04-16 expiration = 3.55 USD, 43.5% of 8.17 spot.
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±43.5% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI0.46
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourcePut open interest divided by call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 6:13 PM ET
How568 put contracts / 1,225 call contracts = 0.46 for the 2027-04-16 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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568 puts / 1K calls
Call wall$10
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 6:13 PM ET
How10.00 for the 2027-04-16 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$8
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most put open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 6:13 PM ET
How8.00 for the 2027-04-16 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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largest put OI
IV3087.9%
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe 30-day implied volatility for the underlying
Fieldiv30
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 6:13 PM ET
HowAs Cboe publishes it; not computed by us.
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30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$2K
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceNet gamma exposure from Cboe greeks and open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 6:13 PM ET
HowOver every strike with open interest for the 2027-04-16 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 ≈ $15

Event risk before this expiration: 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 6one strike decides3d
Fri, Nov 13one strike decides10d
Fri, Nov 20$10+22.4%17d
Fri, Nov 27one strike decides24d
Fri, Dec 4$9.5+16.3%31d
Fri, Dec 11too thin38d
Fri, Dec 18$10+22.4%45d
Fri, Jan 15one strike decides73d
Fri, Mar 19$10+22.4%136d
Fri, Apr 16$10+22.4%164d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot1051014192328$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 — 10 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot105913172126219219
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)INFQ 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

spot1059111866
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot51014192328154%73%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 82.8% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spotflip 155913172126+$969−$969
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
0.89-0.0050.04230.01-0.00-0.12
0.82-0.0060.05940.01-0.00-0.19
0.73-0.0070.07330.02-0.01-0.28
0.65-0.0180.08220.02-0.01-0.37
0.57-0.0190.08640.02-0.01-0.45
0.50-0.01100.08680.02-0.01-0.52
0.43-0.01110.08460.02-0.01-0.59
0.38-0.01120.08070.02-0.01-0.65
0.33-0.01130.07610.02-0.01-0.70
0.29-0.01140.07100.02-0.01-0.75
0.25-0.01150.06590.02-0.00-0.78

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 11 strikes around the money — all 23 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot49.512.515.518.5244K0
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

spot271115192620K20K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 147K call contracts, 47K 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: INFQ workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk