Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 25, 12:19 AM ET

RYN max pain

Spot (delayed)$18.65
Max pain · Fri, Aug 20$20+7.2% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$4.07±21.8% by Fri, Aug 20
Put/Call OI0.82666 puts / 817 calls
Call wall$22.5largest call OI
Put wall$20largest put OI
IV3030.7%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$2Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $25

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$20+7.2%27d
Fri, Dec 18$20+7.2%55d
Fri, Jan 15$20+7.2%83d
Fri, Feb 19$22.5+20.6%118d
Fri, May 21$17.5-6.2%209d
Fri, Aug 20$20+7.2%300d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot20131620232730$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 — 20 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Aug 20

spot2012.517.522.527.5444444
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)RYN open contracts per strike for Fri, Aug 20.

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, Aug 20

spot2012.517.522.527.555
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Aug 20

spot13162023273036%27%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 31.4% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Aug 20

spotflip 2512.517.522.527.5+$11K−$11K
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, Aug 20

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.95-0.0012.50.02560.01-0.00-0.09
0.82-0.00150.05370.04-0.00-0.20
0.65-0.0017.50.07490.06-0.00-0.37
0.45-0.00200.08150.06-0.00-0.56
0.28-0.0022.50.07070.06-0.00-0.73
0.16-0.00250.05200.04-0.00-0.86
0.09-0.0027.50.03420.03-0.00-0.94
0.05-0.00300.02120.02—-0.98

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

spot12.517.522.527.532.56K0
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

spot7.512.517.522.527.532.57K7K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 15K call contracts, 10K 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: RYN workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk