Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 25, 2:24 AM ET

MSFD max pain

Spot (delayed)$9.75
Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$10+2.6% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$2.53±25.9% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI1.96102 puts / 52 calls
Call wall$13largest call OI
Put wall$10largest put OI
IV3032.6%30-day implied vol
Net GEX−$902per 1% move · flip ≈ $9

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$9-7.7%26d
Fri, Jan 15$10+2.6%82d
Fri, Apr 16$10+2.6%173d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot108910111213$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

spot108910111213101101
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)MSFD 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

spot10891011121311
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot891011121345%27%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 29.5% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spotflip 98910111213+$1K−$1K
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
0.86-0.0080.18410.01-0.00-0.24
0.67-0.0090.24300.02-0.00-0.40
0.44-0.00100.19690.03-0.00-0.56
0.31-0.00110.13980.02-0.00-0.65
0.25-0.00120.10590.02-0.00-0.70
0.21-0.00130.08500.02-0.00-0.74

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

spot9111315181070
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

spot159131721119119
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 415 call contracts, 122 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: MSFD workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk