This page reflects PAR 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 — PAR
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $16.00 (3.42 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$16.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$1.48
±7.6%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
5,949
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
958
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.16
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$19.42
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
$14.00
6/18/2026, 11:30:14 PM
2026-07-17
$14.00
7/17/2026, 11:27:44 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$16.00
8/18/2026, 11:24:45 PM
2026-09-18
$17.00
8/18/2026, 11:24:45 PM
2026-10-16
$16.00
8/18/2026, 11:24:45 PM
2026-12-18
$17.50
8/18/2026, 11:24:45 PM
2027-01-15
$16.00
8/18/2026, 11:24:45 PM
2027-06-17
$20.00
8/18/2026, 11:24:45 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $16.00.
PAR pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
7
0
881500
881500
12
0
404500
404500
13
0
309600
309600
14
0
217900
217900
15
500
139000
139500
16
38800
68600
107400
17
279100
1900
281000
18
763100
100
763200
19
1321300
0
1321300
20
1885300
0
1885300
21
2466300
0
2466300
22
3048000
0
3048000
23
3640200
0
3640200
25
4828600
0
4828600
30
7800100
0
7800100
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.