Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 27, 12:01 AM ET

PCOR max pain

Spot (delayed)$62.77
Max pain · Fri, Dec 18$57.5-8.4% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$10.8±17.2% by Fri, Dec 18
Put/Call OI0.1820 puts / 112 calls
Call wall$70largest call OI
Put wall$37.5largest put OI
IV3064.9%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$10Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $65

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$57.5-8.4%24d
Fri, Dec 18$57.5-8.4%52d
Fri, Jan 15$65+3.6%80d
Fri, Apr 16$42.5-32.3%171d
Fri, Dec 17$27.5-56.2%416d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot57.5384757667685$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 — 57.5 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Dec 18

spot57.537.547.557.56575855959
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)PCOR 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

spot57.537.547.557.565758522
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Dec 18

spot384757667685116%53%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 56.7% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Dec 18

spotflip 6537.547.557.5657585+$6K−$6K
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
0.96-0.0137.50.00410.02-0.02-0.04
0.91-0.02450.00910.04-0.03-0.09
0.88-0.0347.50.01160.05-0.03-0.12
0.76-0.04550.02080.07-0.04-0.24
0.70-0.0557.50.02390.08-0.05-0.30
0.56-0.0562.50.02850.09-0.05-0.44
0.49-0.05650.02930.10-0.05-0.51
0.36-0.05700.02760.09-0.05-0.65
0.25-0.04750.02320.08-0.04-0.76
0.17-0.03800.01820.06-0.03-0.84
0.12-0.03850.01380.05-0.03-0.90

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

spot22.54052.562.5752K0
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

spot2032.54557.570903K3K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 12K call contracts, 4K 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: PCOR workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk