This page reflects CW 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 — CW
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $730.00 (34.33 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$730.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$21.90
±3.1%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
770
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
274
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.36
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$695.67
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
$700.00
6/18/2026, 11:10:51 PM
2026-07-17
$740.00
7/17/2026, 11:10:58 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$730.00
8/18/2026, 11:09:21 PM
2026-09-18
$720.00
8/18/2026, 11:09:21 PM
2026-11-20
$740.00
8/18/2026, 11:09:21 PM
2026-12-18
$760.00
8/18/2026, 11:09:21 PM
2027-03-19
$690.00
8/18/2026, 11:09:21 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $730.00.
CW pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
310
0
10484000
10484000
320
0
10213000
10213000
330
0
9942000
9942000
340
1000
9671000
9672000
350
2000
9400000
9402000
360
3000
9135000
9138000
380
5000
8605000
8610000
390
6000
8340000
8346000
430
10000
7280000
7290000
450
12000
6750000
6762000
460
13000
6485000
6498000
470
14000
6220000
6234000
490
16000
5690000
5706000
500
17000
5425000
5442000
530
20000
4630000
4650000
540
21000
4367000
4388000
570
24000
3581000
3605000
580
25000
3319000
3344000
590
26000
3058000
3084000
600
28000
2801000
2829000
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.