Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 27, 4:35 AM ET

TECX max pain

Spot (delayed)$19.95
Max pain · Fri, Feb 19$30+50.4% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$14.35±71.9% by Fri, Feb 19
Put/Call OI0.235 puts / 22 calls
Call wall$45largest call OI
Put wall$35largest put OI
IV30120.7%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$131per 1% move · flip ≈ $30

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+0.3%24d
Fri, Dec 18$30+50.4%52d
Fri, Jan 15$30+50.4%80d
Fri, Feb 19$30+50.4%115d
Fri, Apr 16$25+25.3%171d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot30182533404855$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 — 30 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Feb 19

spot3017.52535455566
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)TECX open contracts per strike for Fri, Feb 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, Feb 19

spot3017.52535455511
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Feb 19

spot182533404855174%162%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 164.9% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Feb 19

spotflip 3022.5304050+$48−$48
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, Feb 19

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.75-0.0317.50.01770.04-0.03-0.27
0.66-0.0322.50.02020.04-0.03-0.36
0.61-0.03250.02080.04-0.03-0.41
0.54-0.03300.02150.04-0.03-0.48
0.47-0.03350.02140.04-0.03-0.55
0.42-0.03400.02080.04-0.03-0.61
0.37-0.03450.02010.04-0.03-0.66
0.33-0.03500.01920.04-0.03-0.70

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 8 strikes around the money — all 9 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot1022.53040501K0
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

spot2.51017.52540551K1K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 4K call contracts, 1K 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: TECX workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk