This page reflects LH 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 — LH
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $280.00 (42.18 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$280.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$6.30
±2.0%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
1,120
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
916
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.82
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$322.18
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
$260.00
6/18/2026, 11:18:44 PM
2026-07-17
$280.00
7/17/2026, 11:21:09 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$280.00
8/18/2026, 11:19:29 PM
2026-09-18
$310.00
8/18/2026, 11:19:29 PM
2026-11-20
$280.00
8/18/2026, 11:19:29 PM
2027-01-15
$270.00
8/18/2026, 11:19:29 PM
2027-02-19
$290.00
8/18/2026, 11:19:29 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $280.00.
LH pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
160
0
10928000
10928000
185
2500
8640500
8643000
190
3500
8183500
8187000
195
5000
7726500
7731500
200
6500
7270000
7276500
210
10500
6358000
6368500
220
14500
5447000
5461500
230
22500
4548000
4570500
240
54500
3714000
3768500
250
90500
2907000
2997500
260
162500
2271000
2433500
270
323500
1658000
1981500
280
694500
1069000
1763500
290
1348500
594000
1942500
300
2087500
133000
2220500
310
2968500
10000
2978500
320
3983500
0
3983500
330
5024500
0
5024500
340
6110500
0
6110500
350
7201500
0
7201500
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.