HowThe settle strike with the smallest total payout to option holders for the 2026-12-18 expiration, over 43 strikes carrying 3,394 open contracts. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
SourcePut open interest divided by call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 6:06 AM ET
How1,899 put contracts / 1,495 call contracts = 1.27 for the 2026-12-18 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
SourceNet gamma exposure from Cboe greeks and open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 6:06 AM ET
HowOver every strike with open interest for the 2026-12-18 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.
Event risk before this expiration: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.
■ 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 — 119 — is the max pain price.
Open interest by strike · Fri, Dec 18
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)SPYG open contracts per strike for Fri, Dec 18.
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 18
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).
Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Dec 18
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 25.3% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.
Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Dec 18
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 18
Call Δ
Call Θ
Strike
Γ
Vega
Put Θ
Put Δ
0.78
-0.04
108
0.0253
0.12
-0.04
-0.23
0.76
-0.04
109
0.0274
0.13
-0.04
-0.25
0.73
-0.04
110
0.0296
0.14
-0.04
-0.28
0.70
-0.04
111
0.0320
0.14
-0.04
-0.31
0.68
-0.04
112
0.0342
0.15
-0.04
-0.34
0.64
-0.04
113
0.0365
0.15
-0.04
-0.37
0.61
-0.04
114
0.0386
0.16
-0.04
-0.41
0.57
-0.04
115
0.0404
0.16
-0.04
-0.45
0.53
-0.04
116
0.0418
0.16
-0.04
-0.49
0.48
-0.04
117
0.0427
0.16
-0.04
-0.54
0.44
-0.04
118
0.0430
0.16
-0.04
-0.59
0.40
-0.04
119
0.0426
0.16
-0.04
-0.63
0.36
-0.04
120
0.0415
0.15
-0.04
-0.68
0.32
-0.03
121
0.0399
0.15
-0.04
-0.72
0.28
-0.03
122
0.0377
0.14
-0.04
-0.77
Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 15 strikes around the money — all 43 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.
Stacked — layer the expirations
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.
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.