Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 24, 3:06 AM ET

STNG max pain

Spot (delayed)$85.92
Max pain · Fri, Dec 18$82.5-4.0% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$11.25±13.1% by Fri, Dec 18
Put/Call OI0.9276 puts / 83 calls
Call wall$85largest call OI
Put wall$80largest put OI
IV3043.2%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$3Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $90

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$90+4.7%27d
Fri, Dec 18$82.5-4.0%55d
Fri, Jan 15$67.5-21.4%83d
Fri, Apr 16$65-24.3%174d
Fri, May 21$65-24.3%209d
Thu, Jun 17$85-1.1%236d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot82.57076828894100$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 — 82.5 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Dec 18

spot82.57077.582.590954141
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)STNG 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

spot82.57077.582.590953939
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Dec 18

spot707682889410048%37%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 42.2% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Dec 18

spotflip 907077.582.59095+$7K−$7K
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 ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.90-0.03700.01270.06-0.03-0.11
0.81-0.04750.01900.09-0.04-0.19
0.76-0.0477.50.02230.10-0.04-0.24
0.70-0.04800.02520.12-0.04-0.30
0.63-0.0582.50.02740.13-0.05-0.37
0.56-0.05850.02870.13-0.05-0.45
0.42-0.05900.02820.13-0.05-0.59
0.36-0.0592.50.02670.13-0.05-0.65
0.30-0.04950.02460.12-0.04-0.71
0.21-0.041000.01980.10-0.04-0.80

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

spot2542.557.572.587.51054K0
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

spot17.53552.57087.51104K4K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 16K call contracts, 16K 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: STNG workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk