This page reflects NOV 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 — NOV
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $18.00 (2.99 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$18.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.78
±3.7%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
4,780
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
798
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.17
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$20.99
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
$20.00
6/18/2026, 11:22:59 PM
2026-07-17
$19.00
7/17/2026, 11:26:39 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$18.00
8/18/2026, 11:20:23 PM
2026-09-18
$20.00
8/18/2026, 11:20:23 PM
2026-11-20
$20.00
8/18/2026, 11:20:23 PM
2027-01-15
$12.00
8/18/2026, 11:20:23 PM
2027-02-19
$17.00
8/18/2026, 11:20:23 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $18.00.
NOV pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
7
0
770400
770400
8
100
690600
690700
9
200
610900
611100
10
800
542200
543000
11
1400
473500
474900
12
2000
404800
406800
13
2800
336200
339000
14
3600
267600
271200
15
4400
199200
203600
16
15400
132800
148200
17
39400
82700
122100
18
64500
47600
112100
19
103500
19900
123400
20
154800
1600
156400
21
289900
0
289900
22
624600
0
624600
23
1041700
0
1041700
24
1476400
0
1476400
25
1916100
0
1916100
26
2374600
0
2374600
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.