Max pain // Cboe delayed data · as of Oct 15, 1:53 AM ET

VSH max pain

Spot (delayed)$27.74
Max pain · Fri, Dec 15$35+26.2% vs spot
Expected move (ATM straddle)±$21.35±77.0% by Fri, Dec 15
Put/Call OI0.45232 puts / 517 calls
Call wall$50largest call OI
Put wall$25largest put OI
IV3076.4%30-day implied vol
Net GEX+$2Kper 1% move · flip ≈ $25

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, Oct 16$35+26.2%1d
Fri, Nov 20$35+26.2%36d
Fri, Dec 18$30+8.1%64d
Fri, Jan 15$50+80.2%92d
Fri, Apr 16$25-9.9%183d
Fri, Jan 21$50+80.2%463d
Fri, Dec 15$35+26.2%792d
Fri, Jan 19$30+8.1%827d

The writer-loss curve — where max pain comes from

spot351834516784100$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 — 35 — is the max pain price.

Open interest by strike · Fri, Dec 15

spot3517.530507090117117
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)VSH open contracts per strike for Fri, Dec 15.

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 15

spot3517.53050709055
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Today's traded contracts per strike (delayed).

Implied volatility by strike · Fri, Dec 15

spot183451678410075%66%
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 67.1% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.

Gamma exposure by strike · Fri, Dec 15

spotflip 2517.530507090+$839−$839
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 15

Call ΔCall ΘStrikeΓVegaPut ΘPut Δ
0.88-0.0017.50.00770.09-0.00-0.14
0.85-0.00200.00880.10-0.00-0.17
0.81-0.0022.50.00980.12-0.01-0.21
0.79-0.00250.01060.13-0.01-0.24
0.73-0.01300.01190.14-0.01-0.31
0.68-0.01350.01280.15-0.01-0.37
0.63-0.01400.01340.16-0.01-0.43
0.58-0.01450.01370.16-0.01-0.48
0.54-0.01500.01390.17-0.01-0.54
0.51-0.01550.01390.17-0.01-0.59
0.47-0.01600.01380.17-0.01-0.63
0.44-0.01650.01360.17-0.01-0.68

Quoted contract greeks from the delayed feed (not modeled here); the highlighted row is nearest to spot. Showing 12 strikes around the money — all 19 are in the CSV. Δ per $1 of underlying · Θ per day · vega per IV point.

Stacked — layer the expirations

spot7.517.53050709011K0
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

spot2.51530558022K22K
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)Every expiration combined: 53K call contracts, 56K 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: VSH workspace · max pain, explained in full · options profit calculator · GEX, defined · pin risk