Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 24, 11:17 PM ET

RGR max pain

Spot (delayed)$45.47
Max pain · Fri, Jan 15$40-12.0% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$6.78±14.9% by Fri, Jan 15
Put/Call OI0.96114 puts / 119 calls
Call wall$45largest call OI
Put wall$30largest put OI
IV3046.1%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$4Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $45

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$50+10.0%27d
Fri, Dec 18$50+10.0%55d
Fri, Jan 15$40-12.0%83d
Fri, Apr 16$40-12.0%174d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot40232936424955$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 — 40 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Jan 15

spot4022.5304047.5554343
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)RGR open contracts per strike for Fri, Jan 15.

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, Jan 15

spot4022.5304047.5551010
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Jan 15

spot232936424955125%36%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 39.7% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Jan 15

spotflip 4522.5304047.555+$3K−$3K
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, Jan 15

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.95-0.0122.50.00480.02-0.01-0.05
0.94-0.01250.00620.02-0.01-0.06
0.91-0.02300.01040.04-0.02-0.09
0.85-0.02350.01770.05-0.02-0.15
0.74-0.02400.02960.07-0.02-0.25
0.56-0.02450.04160.09-0.02-0.43
0.45-0.0247.50.04210.09-0.02-0.54
0.36-0.02500.03860.08-0.02-0.63
0.25-0.02550.02900.07-0.02-0.75

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

spot3542.547.552.5606K0
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

spot2027.53542.55057.56K6K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 8K call contracts, 7K 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: RGR workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk