Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Nov 10, 6:05 AM ET

VGT max pain

Spot (delayed)$111.89
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe delayed quote, underlying price
Fieldcurrent_price
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:05 AM ET
HowAbout 15 minutes delayed.
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Max pain · Fri, Nov 20$115
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceMax pain from Cboe open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:05 AM ET
HowThe settle strike with the smallest total payout to option holders for the 2026-11-20 expiration, over 108 strikes carrying 31,594 open contracts. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
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+2.8% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$5.33
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceAt-the-money straddle midpoint
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:05 AM ET
HowCall midpoint plus put midpoint at the strike nearest spot for the 2026-11-20 expiration = 5.33 USD, 4.8% of 111.89 spot.
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±4.8% by Fri, Nov 20
Put/Call OI0.81
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourcePut open interest divided by call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:05 AM ET
How14,150 put contracts / 17,444 call contracts = 0.81 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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14K puts / 17K calls
Call wall$130
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:05 AM ET
How130.00 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$95
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceStrike with the most put open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:05 AM ET
How95.00 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
IV3031.2%
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EVIDENCE — filed/published fact
SourceCboe 30-day implied volatility for the underlying
Fieldiv30
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:05 AM ET
HowAs Cboe publishes it; not computed by us.
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30-day implied vol
Net GEX−$1.8M
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INFERENCE — derived by arithmetic
SourceNet gamma exposure from Cboe greeks and open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 10, 6:05 AM 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 ≈ $67.5

Max pain levels

ExpiryMax painvs spotDTE
Fri, Nov 20$115+2.8%10d
Fri, Dec 18$93.75-16.2%38d
Fri, Jan 15$110-1.7%66d
Fri, Feb 19$110-1.7%101d
Fri, Mar 19one strike decides129d
Fri, May 21$95-15.1%192d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot1157590105120135150$50M$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 — 115 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Nov 20

spot11575100.63109.38116.25122.5129.383K3K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)VGT open contracts per strike for Fri, Nov 20. Showing the 60 largest of 108 strikes by open interest, 96.7% of the total.

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

spot11583.75103.13108.75114.38120127.5326326
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Nov 20

spot8498111124137150120%25%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 34.0% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Nov 20

spotflip 67.575100.63109.38116.25122.5129.38+$1.1M−$1.1M
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
0.80-0.11105.630.03370.06-0.11-0.20
0.78-0.11106.250.03620.06-0.11-0.22
0.73-0.12107.50.04140.06-0.12-0.27
0.68-0.12108.750.04660.07-0.13-0.32
0.66-0.13109.380.04910.07-0.13-0.34
0.63-0.131100.05150.07-0.13-0.38
0.59-0.13110.630.05360.08-0.13-0.41
0.53-0.13111.880.05710.08-0.13-0.48
0.49-0.13112.50.05810.08-0.13-0.51
0.45-0.12113.130.05870.08-0.12-0.55
0.41-0.12113.750.05870.08-0.12-0.59
0.38-0.11114.380.05810.07-0.11-0.63
0.34-0.111150.05680.07-0.11-0.66
0.30-0.10115.630.05490.07-0.10-0.70
0.27-0.09116.250.05250.06-0.09-0.73

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 15 strikes around the money — all 60 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot62.587.598.75110.63121.88132.56K0
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

spot56.2590100.63115.63123.751357K7K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 76K call contracts, 50K 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: VGT workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · iron condor and credit spread calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk