Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Nov 9, 9:44 PM ET

VDC max pain

Spot (delayed)$247.95
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe delayed quote, underlying price
Fieldcurrent_price
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 9, 9:44 PM ET
HowAbout 15 minutes delayed.
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Max pain · Fri, Nov 20$235
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceMax pain from Cboe open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 9, 9:44 PM ET
HowThe settle strike with the smallest total payout to option holders for the 2026-11-20 expiration, over 8 strikes carrying 103 open contracts. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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-5.2% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$7.07
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceAt-the-money straddle midpoint
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 9, 9:44 PM ET
HowCall midpoint plus put midpoint at the strike nearest spot for the 2026-11-20 expiration = 7.07 USD, 2.9% of 247.95 spot.
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±2.9% by Fri, Nov 20
Put/Call OI0.69
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourcePut open interest divided by call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 9, 9:44 PM ET
How42 put contracts / 61 call contracts = 0.69 for the 2026-11-20 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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42 puts / 61 calls
Call wall$240
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 9, 9:44 PM ET
How240.00 for the 2026-11-20 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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largest call OI
Put wall$230
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most put open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 9, 9:44 PM ET
How230.00 for the 2026-11-20 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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largest put OI
IV3019.5%
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe 30-day implied volatility for the underlying
Fieldiv30
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 9, 9:44 PM ET
HowAs Cboe publishes it; not computed by us.
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30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$58K
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceNet gamma exposure from Cboe greeks and open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 9, 9:44 PM ET
HowOver every strike with open interest for the 2026-11-20 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.
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per 1% move · flip ≈ $230

Max pain levels

ExpiryMax painvs spotDTE
Fri, Nov 20$235-5.2%10d
Fri, Dec 18too thin38d
Fri, Jan 15$230-7.2%66d
Fri, Apr 16$230-7.2%157d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot235225232239246253260$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 — 235 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Nov 20

spot2352252352452553838
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)VDC 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

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Nov 20

spot22523223924625326040%22%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 19.6% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Nov 20

spotflip 230225235245255+$54K−$54K
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
0.94-0.092250.00840.05-0.09-0.07
0.91-0.112300.01250.07-0.11-0.10
0.86-0.132350.01890.10-0.13-0.15
0.77-0.162400.02840.13-0.16-0.24
0.61-0.182450.03890.17-0.18-0.39
0.41-0.172500.04060.17-0.17-0.59
0.24-0.152550.03080.14-0.14-0.76
0.14-0.122600.02030.10-0.11-0.85

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

spot190215225235245255490
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

spot160190200230260290112112
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 252 call contracts, 214 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.

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.

Keep going: VDC workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk