This page reflects ALM options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Aug 19, 2026 close
Max Pain — ALM
Data as of market close Aug 19, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $15.00 (1.18 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$15.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$1.55
±9.6%
Days to Expiry
2
Calendar days
Total Call OI
7,361
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
8,337
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
1.13
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$16.18
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
2026-06-18
$17.50
6/18/2026, 11:02:29 PM
2026-07-17
$17.50
7/17/2026, 11:03:10 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$15.00
8/19/2026, 11:02:37 PM
2026-09-18
$15.00
8/19/2026, 11:02:37 PM
2026-11-20
$15.00
8/19/2026, 11:02:37 PM
2026-12-18
$15.00
8/19/2026, 11:02:37 PM
2027-01-15
$15.00
8/19/2026, 11:02:37 PM
2027-02-19
$7.50
8/19/2026, 11:02:37 PM
2027-03-19
$2.50
8/19/2026, 11:02:37 PM
2027-06-17
$17.50
8/19/2026, 11:02:37 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $15.00.
ALM pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
2.5
0
8450250
8450250
5
500
6366000
6366500
7.5
2250
4282000
4284250
10
6500
2202250
2208750
12.5
23750
1056500
1080250
15
216000
374250
590250
17.5
887750
95000
982750
20
1790000
22250
1812250
22.5
3078750
8750
3087500
25
4409750
5500
4415250
30
7856750
0
7856750
35
11408250
0
11408250
40
15034750
0
15034750
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.