This page reflects AI options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Aug 18, 2026 close
Max Pain — AI
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $8.50 (1.37 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$8.50
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.43
±4.4%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
59,633
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
3,630
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.06
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$9.87
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-08-21
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-08-07
$8.00
8/7/2026, 11:02:27 PM
2026-08-14
$10.00
8/14/2026, 11:02:15 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$8.50
8/18/2026, 11:02:06 PM
2026-08-28
$9.50
8/18/2026, 11:02:06 PM
2026-09-04
$9.50
8/18/2026, 11:02:06 PM
2026-09-11
$10.00
8/18/2026, 11:02:06 PM
2026-09-18
$10.00
8/18/2026, 11:02:06 PM
2026-09-25
$9.50
8/18/2026, 11:02:06 PM
2026-10-02
$7.00
8/18/2026, 11:02:06 PM
2026-10-16
$10.00
8/18/2026, 11:02:06 PM
2026-12-18
$10.00
8/18/2026, 11:02:06 PM
2027-01-15
$15.00
8/18/2026, 11:02:06 PM
2027-03-19
$12.50
8/18/2026, 11:02:06 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $8.50.
AI pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
2.5
0
2378050
2378050
4
750
1834300
1835050
4.5
1100
1653150
1654250
5
1650
1472000
1473650
5.5
2450
1291100
1293550
6
3350
1111700
1115050
6.5
4550
933900
938450
7
6300
760150
766450
7.5
10650
587200
597850
8
21250
441550
462800
8.5
131200
302050
433250
9
245850
190250
436100
9.5
383450
100050
483500
10
538700
37650
576350
10.5
1871450
25400
1896850
11
3481800
18300
3500100
11.5
5498400
12300
5510700
12
8387000
7200
8394200
12.5
11291550
2200
11293750
13
14226400
1750
14228150
How to Read Max Pain
Compare pin-risk and strike-pressure across expirations from the latest published close.
What max pain measures
Max pain is the strike where option holders would collectively lose the most at expiration, based on open interest across the listed chain.
How traders use it
It is most useful as a possible pinning zone, especially when spot is already trading near a crowded strike into expiration.
What can break it
Strong directional flows, news, or fast spot moves can overwhelm any pinning tendency, so max pain should support a thesis rather than drive it alone.
The closer you are to expiration, the more useful this becomes as context and the less useful it is as a standalone prediction.