Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 18, 1:02 AM ET

RXT max pain

Spot (delayed)$2.83
Max pain · Fri, Nov 6$2.5-11.7% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$0.68±23.9% by Fri, Nov 6
Put/Call OI0.4183 puts / 201 calls
Call wall$4.5largest call OI
Put wall$2.5largest put OI
IV30107.2%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$27per 1% move · flip ≈ $2.5

Event risk before this expiration: FOMC decision Wed, Oct 28 · Jobs report Fri, Nov 6 — macro releases historically overwhelm pinning effects; max pain reads weakest in event weeks.

Max pain levels

ExpiryMax painvs spotDTE
Fri, Oct 23$3+6.0%5d
Fri, Oct 30$3.5+23.7%12d
Fri, Nov 6$2.5-11.7%19d
Fri, Nov 13$2-29.3%26d
Fri, Nov 20$3+6.0%33d
Fri, Nov 27$0.5-82.3%40d
Fri, Dec 18$4+41.3%61d
Fri, Jan 15$4+41.3%89d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot2.5123467$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 — 2.5 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Nov 6

spot2.50.51.53456.58181
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)RXT open contracts per strike for Fri, Nov 6.

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, Nov 6

spot2.50.51.53456.51111
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Nov 6

spot123567403%110%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 118.9% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Nov 6

spotflip 2.50.51.53456.5+$183−$183
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, Nov 6

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.99-0.000.50.01100.00-0.00-0.01
0.97-0.0010.03360.00-0.00-0.03
0.94-0.001.50.08450.00-0.00-0.06
0.72-0.012.50.43860.00-0.01-0.28
0.46-0.0130.53780.00-0.01-0.54
0.28-0.013.50.40890.00-0.01-0.72
0.18-0.0140.28950.00-0.01-0.82
0.13-0.014.50.21030.00-0.01-0.87
0.10-0.0050.15800.00-0.00-0.91
0.07-0.005.50.12240.00-0.00-0.93
0.05-0.006.50.07870.00-0.00-0.96
0.04-0.0070.06480.00-0.00-0.97

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

spot0.523.556.51K0
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

spot0.52.54.56.591323K23K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 88K call contracts, 34K 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: RXT workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk