Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 27, 12:13 AM ET

RXRX max pain

Spot (delayed)$3.78
Max pain · Fri, Mar 19$3.5-7.5% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$1.61±42.6% by Fri, Mar 19
Put/Call OI0.243K puts / 10K calls
Call wall$4largest call OI
Put wall$3.5largest put OI
IV3092.5%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$21Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $3

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$3.5-7.5%3d
Fri, Nov 6$3.5-7.5%10d
Fri, Nov 13$1-73.6%17d
Fri, Nov 20$3.5-7.5%24d
Fri, Nov 27$1-73.6%31d
Fri, Dec 4$1-73.6%38d
Fri, Dec 18$3.5-7.5%52d
Fri, Jan 15$3-20.7%80d
Fri, Mar 19$3.5-7.5%143d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot3.5123456$2M$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 — 3.5 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Mar 19

spot3.51234563K3K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)RXRX open contracts per strike for Fri, Mar 19.

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, Mar 19

spot3.51234565656
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Mar 19

spot123456287%76%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 78.3% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Mar 19

spotflip 3123456+$8K−$8K
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, Mar 19

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.96-0.0010.01940.00-0.00-0.03
0.94-0.001.50.03790.00-0.00-0.06
0.90-0.0020.06520.00-0.00-0.10
0.84-0.002.50.10200.01-0.00-0.15
0.77-0.0030.14280.01-0.00-0.23
0.67-0.003.50.17510.01-0.00-0.33
0.58-0.0040.19010.01-0.00-0.42
0.50-0.004.50.19030.01-0.00-0.51
0.43-0.0050.18220.01-0.00-0.57
0.38-0.005.50.17080.01-0.00-0.63
0.33-0.0060.15870.01-0.00-0.68

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

spot0.523.556.585K0
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

spot0.52.54.56.58.51769K69K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 274K call contracts, 54K 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: RXRX workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk