This page reflects OI 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 — OI
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $8.00 (1.64 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$8.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.50
±7.9%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
48,978
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
1,403
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.03
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$6.36
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
$9.00
6/18/2026, 11:29:34 PM
2026-07-17
$9.00
7/17/2026, 11:26:02 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$8.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:59 PM
2026-09-18
$8.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:59 PM
2026-11-20
$9.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:59 PM
2026-12-18
$9.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:59 PM
2027-02-19
$9.00
8/18/2026, 11:23:59 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $8.00.
OI pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
1
0
1190800
1190800
2
1200
1050600
1051800
3
2500
910600
913100
4
3800
770700
774500
5
5200
630900
636100
6
6800
493000
499800
7
9000
359500
368500
8
16600
248600
265200
9
131800
153000
284800
10
4268600
84200
4352800
11
8953700
28900
8982600
12
13676600
7300
13683900
13
18510100
1900
18512000
14
23359500
900
23360400
15
28208900
800
28209700
16
33095000
700
33095700
17
37985200
600
37985800
18
42875400
500
42875900
19
47765600
400
47766000
20
52655800
300
52656100
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.