Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Nov 2, 7:31 PM ET

SPXS max pain

Spot (delayed)$25.92
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe delayed quote, underlying price
Fieldcurrent_price
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 7:31 PM ET
HowAbout 15 minutes delayed.
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Max pain · Fri, Dec 4$22
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceMax pain from Cboe open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 7:31 PM ET
HowThe settle strike with the smallest total payout to option holders for the 2026-12-04 expiration, over 25 strikes carrying 8,067 open contracts. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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-15.1% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$3.25
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceAt-the-money straddle midpoint
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 7:31 PM ET
HowCall midpoint plus put midpoint at the strike nearest spot for the 2026-12-04 expiration = 3.25 USD, 12.5% of 25.92 spot.
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±12.5% by Fri, Dec 4
Put/Call OI0.09
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourcePut open interest divided by call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 7:31 PM ET
How694 put contracts / 7,373 call contracts = 0.09 for the 2026-12-04 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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694 puts / 7K calls
Call wall$29
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 7:31 PM ET
How29.00 for the 2026-12-04 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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largest call OI
Put wall$23.5
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most put open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 7:31 PM ET
How23.50 for the 2026-12-04 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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largest put OI
IV3048.8%
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe 30-day implied volatility for the underlying
Fieldiv30
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 7:31 PM ET
HowAs Cboe publishes it; not computed by us.
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30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$340K
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceNet gamma exposure from Cboe greeks and open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 2, 7:31 PM ET
HowOver every strike with open interest for the 2026-12-04 expiration: (call gamma × call OI minus put gamma × put OI) × 100 × spot² × 1%, summed. Calls count as positive and puts as negative, a convention about who holds the other side, not a measurement.
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per 1% move · flip ≈ $21

Event risk before this expiration: Jobs report Fri, Nov 6 · CPI release Tue, Nov 10 · Jobs report Fri, Dec 4 — macro releases historically overwhelm pinning effects; max pain reads weakest in event weeks.

Max pain levels

ExpiryMax painvs spotDTE
Fri, Nov 6$26+0.3%3d
Fri, Nov 13$23-11.3%10d
Fri, Nov 20one strike decides17d
Fri, Nov 27$24-7.4%24d
Fri, Dec 4$22-15.1%31d
Fri, Dec 11$22-15.1%38d
Fri, Dec 18$24-7.4%45d
Fri, Jan 15$26+0.3%73d
Fri, Apr 16$25-3.5%164d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot22202326293235$6M$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 — 22 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Dec 4

spot222022.52527.5302K2K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)SPXS open contracts per strike for Fri, Dec 4.

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 4

spot2223.52527311313
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Dec 4

spot20232629323593%36%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 52.9% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Dec 4

spotflip 212022.52527.530+$72K−$72K
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 4

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.88-0.0122.50.07170.01-0.01-0.14
0.84-0.01230.08210.02-0.01-0.18
0.79-0.0223.50.09250.02-0.02-0.22
0.74-0.02240.10110.02-0.02-0.27
0.68-0.0224.50.10670.03-0.02-0.32
0.62-0.02250.10870.03-0.02-0.38
0.56-0.0225.50.10740.03-0.02-0.43
0.51-0.03260.10380.03-0.02-0.48
0.47-0.0326.50.09880.03-0.03-0.53
0.42-0.03270.09310.03-0.03-0.57
0.39-0.0327.50.08720.03-0.03-0.61
0.35-0.03280.08150.03-0.03-0.64
0.33-0.0328.50.07600.03-0.03-0.67
0.30-0.03290.07080.03-0.03-0.69
0.28-0.0329.50.06610.03-0.03-0.71

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 15 strikes around the money — all 25 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot2023.52628.531352K0
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

spot132024.529354477K77K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 91K call contracts, 173K 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.

Max pain, walls and gamma print only when an expiration holds at least 100 open contracts across 5 strikes, and max pain also needs to stay within 5% of spot when its single heaviest strike is removed. Below that the expiration reads as thin rather than printing a level one trade could move.

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: SPXS workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk