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

MUU max pain

Spot (delayed)$24.15
Max pain · Fri, Dec 18$30+24.2% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$7.7±31.9% by Fri, Dec 18
Put/Call OI0.6528K puts / 44K calls
Call wall$78.25largest call OI
Put wall$26.5largest put OI
IV30104.4%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$80Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $13.5

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, Oct 30$30+24.2%5d
Fri, Nov 6$30+24.2%12d
Fri, Nov 13$30+24.2%19d
Fri, Nov 20$30+24.2%26d
Fri, Nov 27$28+15.9%33d
Fri, Dec 4$24-0.6%40d
Fri, Dec 18$30+24.2%54d
Fri, Mar 19$25+3.5%145d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot3062340577491$200M$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 — 30 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Dec 18

spot305.519.5263238.5503K3K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)MUU open contracts per strike for Fri, Dec 18.

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, Dec 18

spot305.519.5263238.550184184
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Dec 18

spot62340577491246%95%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 103.2% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Dec 18

spotflip 13.55.519.5263238.550+$38K−$38K
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, Dec 18

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.76-0.0319.50.03020.03-0.03-0.24
0.74-0.03200.03170.03-0.03-0.26
0.70-0.03210.03430.03-0.03-0.30
0.68-0.0321.50.03540.03-0.03-0.32
0.66-0.03220.03650.03-0.03-0.34
0.64-0.0322.50.03750.04-0.03-0.35
0.62-0.03230.03830.04-0.03-0.38
0.58-0.03240.03970.04-0.03-0.41
0.54-0.03250.04060.04-0.03-0.46
0.53-0.0325.250.04070.04-0.03-0.47
0.50-0.03260.04100.04-0.03-0.49
0.48-0.0326.50.04110.04-0.03-0.51
0.47-0.03270.04100.04-0.03-0.53
0.45-0.0327.50.04080.04-0.03-0.55
0.43-0.03280.04060.04-0.03-0.57

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 15 strikes around the money — all 60 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot1522263034383K0
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

spot5.519.52733.539559K9K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 100K call contracts, 60K 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: MUU workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk