Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Aug 1, 2:21 PM ET

MH max pain

Spot (delayed)$10.96
Max pain · Fri, Jan 15$10-8.8% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$5.14±46.9% by Fri, Jan 15
Put/Call OI0.6331 puts / 49 calls
Call wall$12.5largest call OI
Put wall$10largest put OI
IV3079.1%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$220per 1% move · flip ≈ $12.5

Event risk before this expiration: Jobs report Fri, Aug 7 · CPI release Wed, Aug 12 · Jobs report Fri, Sep 4 · CPI release Fri, Sep 11 · FOMC decision Wed, Sep 16 · 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, Aug 21$10-8.8%19d
Fri, Sep 18$12.5+14.1%47d
Fri, Oct 16$10-8.8%75d
Fri, Jan 15$10-8.8%166d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot1081013151820$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, Jan 15

spot107.51012.5204444
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)MH open contracts per strike for Fri, Jan 15.

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, Jan 15

spot107.51012.52011
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Jan 15

spotflip 12.57.51012.520+$424$424
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, Jan 15

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.85-0.007.50.03970.02-0.00-0.16
0.69-0.01100.06810.03-0.01-0.32
0.50-0.0112.50.08020.03-0.01-0.52
0.20-0.00200.04910.02-0.01-0.85

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

spot1012.5151990
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

spot2.57.512.517.5243243
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 359 call contracts, 41 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: MH workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk