This page reflects MFA 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 — MFA
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $9.00 (0.00 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$9.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.15
±1.7%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
336
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
367
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
1.09
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$9.00
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
$10.00
6/18/2026, 11:22:41 PM
2026-07-17
$10.00
7/17/2026, 11:26:25 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$9.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:31 PM
2026-09-18
$9.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:31 PM
2026-10-16
$11.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:31 PM
2027-01-15
$11.00
8/18/2026, 11:21:31 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $9.00.
MFA pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
1
0
292700
292700
2
900
256100
257000
3
2000
219500
221500
4
3800
182900
186700
5
6100
146300
152400
6
8800
109700
118500
7
11800
73100
84900
8
15200
36500
51700
9
18900
3100
22000
10
27100
2300
29400
11
59400
1700
61100
12
92800
1200
94000
13
126200
800
127000
14
159800
500
160300
15
193400
300
193700
16
227000
100
227100
17
260600
0
260600
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.