Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 23, 2:31 AM ET

NGS max pain

Spot (delayed)$30.04
Max pain · Fri, Apr 16$22.5-25.1% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$7.07±23.6% by Fri, Apr 16
Put/Call OI0.035 puts / 182 calls
Call wall$35largest call OI
Put wall$20largest put OI
IV3045.7%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$7Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $32.5

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, Nov 20$30-0.1%28d
Fri, Dec 18$37.5+24.8%56d
Fri, Jan 15$35+16.5%84d
Fri, Apr 16$22.5-25.1%175d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot22.5202632384450$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 — 22.5 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot22.52027.535404550166166
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)NGS 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

spot22.52027.53540455011
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spot20263238445069%42%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 38.6% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Apr 16

spotflip 32.52027.535404550+$7K−$7K
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
0.92-0.00200.01490.04-0.01-0.10
0.88-0.0122.50.02200.04-0.01-0.14
0.72-0.0127.50.04290.07-0.01-0.30
0.49-0.0132.50.04910.08-0.01-0.55
0.40-0.01350.04500.08-0.01-0.65
0.32-0.0137.50.03980.07-0.01-0.73
0.26-0.01400.03460.07-0.01-0.80
0.22-0.0142.50.03000.06-0.01-0.85
0.18-0.01450.02590.06-0.01-0.89
0.15-0.0147.50.02240.05-0.01-0.92
0.13-0.01500.01940.04-0.01-0.95

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

spot2535404550601210
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

spot17.52532.54047.555287287
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 539 call contracts, 328 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: NGS workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk