Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 24, 3:27 AM ET

LEGH max pain

Spot (delayed)$28.04
Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$25-10.8% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$6.2±22.1% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI0.051 puts / 20 calls
Call wall$32.5largest call OI
Put wall$25largest put OI
IV3054.4%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$712per 1% move · flip ≈ $27.5

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, Dec 18$25-10.8%53d
Fri, Jan 15$25-10.8%81d
Fri, Apr 16$25-10.8%172d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot25252728303133$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

spot252527.532.51919
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)LEGH 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

spot252527.532.511
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spotflip 27.52527.532.5+$704−$704
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
0.69-0.01250.03850.07-0.01-0.30
0.58-0.0127.50.04980.07-0.01-0.41
0.35-0.0132.50.04710.07-0.01-0.65

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

spot2527.532.537.5220
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

spot12.52027.53542.52222
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 33 call contracts, 1 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: LEGH workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk