This page reflects ESI 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 — ESI
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $35.00 (2.29 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$35.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$1.45
±3.9%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
16,572
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
9,063
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.55
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$37.29
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
$42.00
6/18/2026, 11:13:11 PM
2026-07-17
$42.00
7/17/2026, 11:14:51 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$35.00
8/18/2026, 11:14:31 PM
2026-09-18
$38.00
8/18/2026, 11:14:31 PM
2026-11-20
$37.00
8/18/2026, 11:14:31 PM
2026-12-18
$25.00
8/18/2026, 11:14:31 PM
2027-02-19
$35.00
8/18/2026, 11:14:31 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $35.00.
ESI pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
15
0
18252900
18252900
24
0
10097100
10097100
25
0
9190900
9190900
27
81400
7431100
7512500
28
122100
6552300
6674400
30
203500
4795300
4998800
31
248300
3924200
4172500
32
293600
3053100
3346700
33
340100
2183200
2523300
34
386800
1487500
1874300
35
505300
797400
1302700
36
824700
538100
1362800
37
1405800
280100
1685900
38
2089200
23900
2113100
39
2851700
18100
2869800
40
3615400
12500
3627900
41
4389900
7500
4397400
42
5491900
3700
5495600
43
6601300
2400
6603700
44
7911300
1700
7913000
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.