This page reflects LW 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 — LW
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $50.00 (1.98 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$50.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$1.40
±2.7%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
2,964
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
6,170
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
2.08
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$51.98
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
2026-07-24
$47.00
7/24/2026, 11:19:32 PM
2026-07-31
$49.00
7/31/2026, 11:20:14 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$50.00
8/18/2026, 11:17:58 PM
2026-09-18
$50.00
8/18/2026, 11:17:58 PM
2026-10-16
$47.50
8/18/2026, 11:17:58 PM
2027-01-15
$47.50
8/18/2026, 11:17:58 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $50.00.
LW pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
27.5
0
8834250
8834250
30
10500
7292500
7303000
32.5
25250
5751500
5776750
35
49000
4213750
4262750
37.5
75750
2719500
2795250
40
105000
1260000
1365000
42.5
135250
840750
976000
45
166000
454000
620000
47.5
198250
99500
297750
50
230750
47250
278000
52.5
344000
9000
353000
55
518000
0
518000
57.5
839250
0
839250
60
1180250
0
1180250
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.