This page reflects ESE 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 — ESE
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $330.00 (23.52 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$330.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$5.50
±1.8%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
93
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
44
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.47
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$306.48
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
$280.00
6/18/2026, 11:08:30 PM
2026-07-17
$320.00
7/17/2026, 11:14:42 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$330.00
8/18/2026, 11:12:15 PM
2026-09-18
$300.00
8/18/2026, 11:12:15 PM
2026-12-18
$280.00
8/18/2026, 11:12:15 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $330.00.
ESE pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
270
0
152000
152000
280
1000
108000
109000
290
3000
65000
68000
300
5000
42000
47000
310
8000
24000
32000
320
11000
8000
19000
330
14000
0
14000
340
30000
0
30000
350
102000
0
102000
360
181000
0
181000
370
270000
0
270000
380
360000
0
360000
390
450000
0
450000
400
542000
0
542000
430
821000
0
821000
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.