HowThe settle strike with the smallest total payout to option holders for the 2026-11-16 expiration, over 11 strikes carrying 132 open contracts. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
SourcePut open interest divided by call open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 9:57 AM ET
How116 put contracts / 16 call contracts = 7.25 for the 2026-11-16 expiration. Open interest is published once a day, before the open, so it describes the previous session.
SourceNet gamma exposure from Cboe greeks and open interest
As ofCboe delayed snapshot Nov 3, 9:57 AM ET
HowOver every strike with open interest for the 2026-11-16 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.
Event risk before this expiration:Jobs report Fri, Nov 6 · CPI release Tue, Nov 10 — macro releases historically overwhelm pinning effects; max pain reads weakest in event weeks.
■ 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 — 64 — is the max pain price.
Open interest by strike · Mon, Nov 16
■ calls (up)■ puts (down)XLF open contracts per strike for Mon, Nov 16.
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 · Mon, Nov 16
Implied volatility by strike · Mon, Nov 16
— call IV— put IVATM ≈ 21.2% · Quoted strikes only; illiquid wings with junk fits are dropped, not smoothed.
Gamma exposure by strike · Mon, Nov 16
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 · Mon, Nov 16
Call Δ
Call Θ
Strike
Γ
Vega
Put Θ
Put Δ
0.95
-0.02
50
0.0228
0.01
-0.02
-0.05
0.94
-0.02
51
0.0293
0.01
-0.02
-0.07
0.92
-0.02
52
0.0388
0.02
-0.02
-0.08
0.89
-0.02
53
0.0533
0.02
-0.02
-0.11
0.77
-0.03
55
0.1028
0.03
-0.03
-0.23
0.52
-0.04
57
0.1487
0.04
-0.04
-0.48
0.37
-0.04
58
0.1428
0.04
-0.04
-0.63
0.10
-0.02
61
0.0596
0.02
-0.02
-0.92
0.06
-0.01
62
0.0406
0.01
-0.01
-0.95
0.03
-0.01
64
0.0213
0.01
-0.01
-0.98
0.03
-0.01
65
0.0164
0.01
-0.01
-0.99
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
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.
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.