Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 27, 4:21 AM ET

STAA max pain

Spot (delayed)$23.23
Max pain · Fri, Nov 20$20-13.9% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$3.45±14.9% by Fri, Nov 20
Put/Call OI0.26116 puts / 438 calls
Call wall$25largest call OI
Put wall$17.5largest put OI
IV3062.4%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$17Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $20

Event risk before this expiration: FOMC decision Wed, Oct 28 · Jobs report Fri, Nov 6 · CPI release Tue, Nov 10 — macro releases historically overwhelm pinning effects; max pain reads weakest in event weeks.

Max pain levels

ExpiryMax painvs spotDTE
Fri, Nov 20$20-13.9%24d
Fri, Dec 18$22.5-3.1%52d
Fri, Mar 19$20-13.9%143d
Thu, Jun 17$30+29.1%233d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot20182124273033$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, Nov 20

spot2017.522.527.532.5235235
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)STAA 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

spot2017.522.527.532.52828
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Nov 20

spot182124273033136%62%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 71.8% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Nov 20

spotflip 2017.522.527.532.5+$12K−$12K
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
0.91-0.0217.50.03140.01-0.02-0.09
0.80-0.02200.06220.02-0.03-0.20
0.60-0.0322.50.09870.02-0.03-0.40
0.35-0.03250.09570.02-0.03-0.64
0.20-0.0227.50.06550.02-0.02-0.80
0.12-0.02300.04240.01-0.02-0.88
0.08-0.0132.50.02850.01-0.01-0.92

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

spot7.51522.53037.547.51K0
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

spot7.51522.53037.5451K1K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 6K call contracts, 2K 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: STAA workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk