This page reflects PCT 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 — PCT
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $9.00 (2.12 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
±$0.60
±8.7%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
52,169
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
56,643
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
1.09
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$6.88
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
2026-08-07
$6.50
8/7/2026, 11:32:16 PM
2026-08-14
$6.50
8/14/2026, 11:25:25 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$9.00
8/18/2026, 11:33:07 PM
2026-08-28
$7.00
8/18/2026, 11:33:07 PM
2026-09-04
$6.50
8/18/2026, 11:33:07 PM
2026-09-11
$10.00
8/18/2026, 11:33:07 PM
2026-09-18
$8.00
8/18/2026, 11:33:07 PM
2026-09-25
$7.00
8/18/2026, 11:33:07 PM
2026-11-20
$7.00
8/18/2026, 11:33:07 PM
2027-01-15
$7.00
8/18/2026, 11:33:07 PM
2027-02-19
$6.00
8/18/2026, 11:33:07 PM
2027-03-19
$4.00
8/18/2026, 11:33:07 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $9.00.
PCT pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
1
0
33317250
33317250
2
400
27652950
27653350
3
800
21988650
21989450
3.5
3000
19156750
19159750
4
5300
16324850
16330150
4.5
11350
14424300
14435650
5
17400
12523850
12541250
5.5
38100
10809300
10847400
6
61100
9096450
9157550
6.5
221000
7880550
8101550
7
396100
6691500
7087600
7.5
713000
5618400
6331400
8
1142000
4548200
5690200
8.5
2017900
3549450
5567350
9
2911100
2550950
5462050
9.5
3924150
2104650
6028800
10
4939050
1658700
6597750
10.5
6285500
1245600
7531100
11
7632150
832500
8464650
12
10369550
12000
10381550
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.