Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 27, 1:09 AM ET

KGS max pain

Spot (delayed)$45.45
Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$45-1.0% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$12.15±26.7% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI0.1345 puts / 345 calls
Call wall$55largest call OI
Put wall$45largest put OI
IV3056.3%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$13Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $40

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$52.5+15.5%24d
Fri, Dec 18$50+10.0%52d
Fri, Jan 15$52.5+15.5%80d
Fri, Apr 16$45-1.0%171d
Fri, Jan 21$50+10.0%451d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot45284155688295$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 — 45 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot4527.542.550608095261261
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)KGS 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

spot4527.542.55060809522
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot28415568829569%47%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 50.2% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spotflip 4027.542.550608095+$13K−$13K
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
0.93-0.0127.50.00990.04-0.01-0.08
0.81-0.01350.01680.08-0.01-0.19
0.70-0.01400.02260.10-0.01-0.30
0.64-0.0242.50.02460.11-0.02-0.37
0.57-0.02450.02590.12-0.02-0.43
0.51-0.0247.50.02640.12-0.02-0.49
0.45-0.02500.02620.12-0.02-0.56
0.34-0.02550.02420.11-0.01-0.66
0.30-0.0157.50.02260.10-0.01-0.71
0.26-0.01600.02100.10-0.01-0.75
0.14-0.01700.01430.07-0.01-0.87
0.11-0.01750.01150.06-0.01-0.91

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 12 strikes around the money — all 16 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot355062.575909760
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

spot17.532.547.562.577.51002K2K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 7K 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: KGS workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk