Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Nov 10, 10:12 AM ET

SPXU max pain

Spot (delayed)$36.45
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe delayed quote, underlying price
Fieldcurrent_price
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 10:12 AM ET
HowAbout 15 minutes delayed.
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Max pain · Fri, Nov 20$33
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceMax pain from Cboe open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 10:12 AM ET
HowThe settle strike with the smallest total payout to option holders for the 2026-11-20 expiration, over 21 strikes carrying 10,855 open contracts. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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-9.5% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$2.55
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceAt-the-money straddle midpoint
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 10:12 AM ET
HowCall midpoint plus put midpoint at the strike nearest spot for the 2026-11-20 expiration = 2.55 USD, 7.0% of 36.45 spot.
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±7.0% by Fri, Nov 20
Put/Call OI0.39
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourcePut open interest divided by call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 10:12 AM ET
How3,056 put contracts / 7,799 call contracts = 0.39 for the 2026-11-20 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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3K puts / 8K calls
Call wall$36
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 10:12 AM ET
How36.00 for the 2026-11-20 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$32
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most put open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 10:12 AM ET
How32.00 for the 2026-11-20 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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largest put OI
IV3049.4%
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe 30-day implied volatility for the underlying
Fieldiv30
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 10:12 AM ET
HowAs Cboe publishes it; not computed by us.
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30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$746K
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceNet gamma exposure from Cboe greeks and open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 10:12 AM ET
HowOver every strike with open interest for the 2026-11-20 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 ≈ $29

Max pain levels

ExpiryMax painvs spotDTE
Fri, Nov 20$33-9.5%10d
Fri, Dec 18one strike decides38d
Fri, Jan 15$40+9.7%66d
Fri, Mar 19$32-12.2%129d
Fri, Apr 16$45+23.5%157d
Fri, May 21one strike decides192d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot33263034384246$8M$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 — 33 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Nov 20

spot332630343842462K2K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)SPXU open contracts per strike for Fri, Nov 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, Nov 20

spot3333353637401010
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Nov 20

spot263034384246137%46%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 52.1% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Nov 20

spotflip 29263034384246+$264K−$264K
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 20

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.99-0.00290.00480.00-0.00-0.01
0.99-0.00300.00860.00-0.00-0.01
0.98-0.01310.01610.00-0.01-0.02
0.96-0.01320.03060.01-0.01-0.04
0.92-0.02330.05640.01-0.02-0.08
0.84-0.03340.09210.01-0.03-0.16
0.71-0.05350.12170.02-0.05-0.29
0.57-0.06360.13010.02-0.06-0.42
0.45-0.06370.12090.02-0.06-0.55
0.35-0.07380.10460.02-0.07-0.65
0.28-0.06390.08760.02-0.06-0.72
0.22-0.06400.07240.02-0.06-0.78
0.18-0.05410.05970.02-0.05-0.82
0.14-0.05420.04940.01-0.05-0.86
0.12-0.04430.04100.01-0.04-0.88

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 15 strikes around the money — all 21 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot2534425058702K0
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

spot2030384654622K2K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 22K call contracts, 11K 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: SPXU workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk