This page reflects AM 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 — AM
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $22.00 (0.69 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$22.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.50
±2.2%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
8,756
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
981
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.11
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$22.69
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
$20.00
6/18/2026, 11:02:38 PM
2026-07-17
$22.00
7/17/2026, 11:03:27 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$22.00
8/18/2026, 11:02:26 PM
2026-09-18
$22.00
8/18/2026, 11:02:26 PM
2026-12-18
$21.00
8/18/2026, 11:02:26 PM
2027-01-15
$20.00
8/18/2026, 11:02:26 PM
2027-03-19
$16.00
8/18/2026, 11:02:26 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $22.00.
AM pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
13
0
764500
764500
14
0
666400
666400
15
0
568300
568300
16
100
470300
470400
17
200
372500
372700
18
400
274700
275100
19
600
176900
177500
20
800
89900
90700
21
1000
32700
33700
22
2300
3600
5900
23
18900
0
18900
24
431200
0
431200
25
1058300
0
1058300
26
1814500
0
1814500
27
2683900
0
2683900
29
4435100
0
4435100
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.