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

STAA max pain

Spot (delayed)$23.23
Max pain · Fri, Mar 19$20-13.9% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$6.78±29.2% by Fri, Mar 19
Put/Call OI0.15250 puts / 2K calls
Call wall$32.5largest call OI
Put wall$22.5largest put OI
IV3062.4%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$29Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $17.5

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$20-13.9%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

spot20131824293540$2M$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, Mar 19

spot2012.517.522.527.532.537.5602602
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)STAA open contracts per strike for Fri, Mar 19.

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, Mar 19

spot2012.517.522.527.532.537.511
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Mar 19

spot131824293540110%57%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 60.4% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Mar 19

spotflip 17.512.517.522.527.532.537.5+$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, Mar 19

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.92-0.0112.50.01310.02-0.01-0.08
0.86-0.01150.01970.03-0.01-0.13
0.79-0.0117.50.02790.04-0.01-0.19
0.70-0.01200.03640.05-0.01-0.28
0.59-0.0122.50.04280.06-0.01-0.39
0.48-0.01250.04490.06-0.01-0.50
0.39-0.0127.50.04290.06-0.01-0.59
0.31-0.01300.03870.05-0.01-0.67
0.26-0.0132.50.03400.05-0.01-0.73
0.21-0.01350.02960.04-0.01-0.77
0.18-0.0137.50.02590.04-0.01-0.81
0.15-0.01400.02270.04-0.01-0.83

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