This page reflects LAES 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 — LAES
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $2.50 (0.24 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$2.50
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.30
±10.8%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
56,726
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
16,832
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.30
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$2.74
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
$2.50
8/7/2026, 11:21:03 PM
2026-08-14
$2.50
8/14/2026, 11:22:32 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$2.50
8/18/2026, 11:22:33 PM
2026-08-28
$2.00
8/18/2026, 11:22:33 PM
2026-09-04
$3.00
8/18/2026, 11:22:33 PM
2026-09-11
$2.50
8/18/2026, 11:22:33 PM
2026-09-18
$2.00
8/18/2026, 11:22:33 PM
2026-09-25
$0.50
8/18/2026, 11:22:33 PM
2026-10-16
$2.50
8/18/2026, 11:22:33 PM
2026-11-20
$3.50
8/18/2026, 11:22:33 PM
2026-12-18
$2.50
8/18/2026, 11:22:33 PM
2027-01-15
$2.00
8/18/2026, 11:22:33 PM
2027-03-19
$2.00
8/18/2026, 11:22:33 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $2.50.
LAES pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
0.5
0
2781500
2781500
1
250
1940550
1940800
1.5
500
1099600
1100100
2
800
516150
516950
2.5
25800
336900
362700
3
832950
194400
1027350
3.5
2699250
105250
2804500
4
4811250
44200
4855450
4.5
7027900
33500
7061400
5
9301000
23200
9324200
5.5
11722350
13800
11736150
6
14166300
4900
14171200
7
19506000
2000
19508000
8
25035200
1000
25036200
9
30573300
0
30573300
10
36118400
0
36118400
12
47269600
0
47269600
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.