Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Nov 10, 6:03 PM ET

MRSH max pain

Spot (delayed)$206.94
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe delayed quote, underlying price
Fieldcurrent_price
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:03 PM ET
HowAbout 15 minutes delayed.
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Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$220
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceMax pain from Cboe open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:03 PM ET
HowThe settle strike with the smallest total payout to option holders for the 2027-04-16 expiration, over 21 strikes carrying 462 open contracts. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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+6.3% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$25.85
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceAt-the-money straddle midpoint
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:03 PM ET
HowCall midpoint plus put midpoint at the strike nearest spot for the 2027-04-16 expiration = 25.85 USD, 12.5% of 206.94 spot.
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±12.5% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI0.83
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourcePut open interest divided by call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:03 PM ET
How209 put contracts / 253 call contracts = 0.83 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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209 puts / 253 calls
Call wall$220
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:03 PM ET
How220.00 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$240
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most put open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:03 PM ET
How240.00 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
IV3022.9%
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe 30-day implied volatility for the underlying
Fieldiv30
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:03 PM ET
HowAs Cboe publishes it; not computed by us.
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30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$51K
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceNet gamma exposure from Cboe greeks and open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:03 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 ≈ $220

Event risk before this expiration: 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$200-3.4%10d
Fri, Dec 18$190-8.2%38d
Fri, Jan 15$180-13.0%66d
Fri, Mar 19$175-15.4%129d
Fri, Apr 16$220+6.3%157d
Fri, Jan 21$175-15.4%437d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot220120150180210240270$2M$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 — 220 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot220120140175195230270140140
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)MRSH 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

spot2201551902102401010
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot12015018021024027053%23%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 23.7% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spotflip 220120140175195230270+$75K−$75K
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
0.89-0.011700.00490.26-0.02-0.12
0.86-0.021750.00590.29-0.03-0.14
0.83-0.021800.00690.34-0.03-0.17
0.80-0.031850.00810.39-0.03-0.21
0.75-0.031900.00920.43-0.03-0.26
0.70-0.031950.01030.46-0.04-0.31
0.65-0.042000.01130.50-0.04-0.36
0.53-0.042100.01260.53-0.04-0.48
0.41-0.042200.01250.52-0.04-0.61
0.30-0.032300.01120.47-0.03-0.73
0.21-0.032400.00920.39-0.03-0.83
0.14-0.022500.00720.31-0.02-0.92
0.10-0.022600.00540.24-0.03-0.98
0.07-0.012700.00400.18-0.05-1.00

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 14 strikes around the money — all 21 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot901201551852302902K0
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

spot801101401702002603K3K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 8K 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.

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: MRSH workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk