This page reflects DOW 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 — DOW
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $30.00 (1.19 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$30.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.96
±3.1%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
36,158
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
38,433
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
1.06
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$31.19
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
$29.50
8/7/2026, 11:12:22 PM
2026-08-14
$30.00
8/14/2026, 11:12:19 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$30.00
8/18/2026, 11:13:29 PM
2026-08-28
$30.00
8/18/2026, 11:13:29 PM
2026-09-04
$29.00
8/18/2026, 11:13:29 PM
2026-09-11
$30.00
8/18/2026, 11:13:29 PM
2026-09-18
$30.00
8/18/2026, 11:13:29 PM
2026-09-25
$32.00
8/18/2026, 11:13:29 PM
2026-10-02
$31.00
8/18/2026, 11:13:29 PM
2026-10-16
$30.00
8/18/2026, 11:13:29 PM
2026-11-20
$30.00
8/18/2026, 11:13:29 PM
2026-12-18
$30.00
8/18/2026, 11:13:29 PM
2027-01-15
$32.50
8/18/2026, 11:13:29 PM
2027-03-19
$30.00
8/18/2026, 11:13:29 PM
2027-06-17
$30.00
8/18/2026, 11:13:29 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $30.00.
DOW pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
17.5
0
42946600
42946600
20
13000
33338350
33351350
22.5
31750
23765350
23797100
23
35500
21871000
21906500
24
43100
18084300
18127400
24.5
47000
16192700
16239700
25
50900
14303100
14354000
25.5
61450
12528450
12589900
26
72100
10754150
10826250
26.5
84350
9056750
9141100
27
96650
7388800
7485450
27.5
109200
5756600
5865800
28
217550
4353250
4570800
28.5
328150
3188700
3516850
29
442000
2050900
2492900
29.5
580300
1416800
1997100
30
724000
799950
1523950
30.5
1600350
645150
2245500
31
2508100
504650
3012750
31.5
3505100
385000
3890100
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.