This page reflects ET 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 — ET
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $20.50 (0.92 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$20.50
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.32
±1.5%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
31,773
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
19,322
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.61
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$21.42
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
$21.00
8/7/2026, 11:13:57 PM
2026-08-14
$20.50
8/14/2026, 11:12:42 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$20.50
8/18/2026, 11:12:52 PM
2026-08-28
$20.50
8/18/2026, 11:12:52 PM
2026-09-04
$20.50
8/18/2026, 11:12:52 PM
2026-09-11
$20.50
8/18/2026, 11:12:52 PM
2026-09-18
$20.00
8/18/2026, 11:12:52 PM
2026-09-25
$20.50
8/18/2026, 11:12:52 PM
2026-10-02
$21.00
8/18/2026, 11:12:52 PM
2026-10-16
$19.00
8/18/2026, 11:12:52 PM
2026-12-18
$20.00
8/18/2026, 11:12:52 PM
2027-01-15
$17.00
8/18/2026, 11:12:52 PM
2027-03-19
$18.00
8/18/2026, 11:12:52 PM
2027-06-17
$20.00
8/18/2026, 11:12:52 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $20.50.
ET pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
10
0
16929050
16929050
11
0
14998350
14998350
12
200
13069150
13069350
13
600
11140350
11140950
14
2500
9211550
9214050
14.5
3800
8247150
8250950
15
5100
7282800
7287900
15.5
6500
6318700
6325200
16
7900
5354650
5362550
16.5
9500
4505900
4515400
17
11100
3657400
3668500
17.5
13800
2939400
2953200
18
16700
2221400
2238100
18.5
20800
1621050
1641850
19
24950
1026650
1051600
19.5
31700
575600
607300
20
38650
151300
189950
20.5
121400
58400
179800
21
361950
4000
365950
21.5
1528100
400
1528500
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.