This page reflects PAY 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 — PAY
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $34.00 (4.32 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$34.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$2.55
±6.7%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
760
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
594
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.78
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$38.32
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
$23.00
6/18/2026, 11:26:55 PM
2026-07-17
$21.00
7/17/2026, 11:26:54 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$34.00
8/18/2026, 11:33:32 PM
2026-09-18
$21.00
8/18/2026, 11:33:32 PM
2026-12-18
$27.00
8/18/2026, 11:33:32 PM
2027-03-19
$15.00
8/18/2026, 11:33:32 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $34.00.
PAY pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
13
0
901600
901600
14
300
850100
850400
15
700
798600
799300
18
2800
644100
646900
19
3600
592800
596400
20
4400
541600
546000
21
5200
490900
496100
22
6200
440300
446500
23
7400
399700
407100
24
8800
370800
379600
25
10500
341900
352400
26
12400
317000
329400
27
15500
292500
308000
28
18600
268000
286600
29
21700
243900
265600
30
25000
219800
244800
31
40300
198900
239200
32
65600
178100
243700
33
91000
157300
248300
34
117700
137300
255000
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.