This page reflects POET options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Aug 17, 2026 close
Max Pain — POET
Data as of market close Aug 17, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $8.00 (1.40 below 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
±$0.83
±8.8%
Days to Expiry
4
Calendar days
Total Call OI
73,924
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
30,630
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.41
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$9.40
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
$7.00
8/7/2026, 11:27:12 PM
2026-08-14
$8.00
8/14/2026, 11:25:38 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$8.00
8/17/2026, 11:29:52 PM
2026-08-28
$7.00
8/17/2026, 11:29:52 PM
2026-09-04
$7.00
8/17/2026, 11:29:52 PM
2026-09-11
$9.00
8/17/2026, 11:29:52 PM
2026-09-18
$7.00
8/17/2026, 11:29:52 PM
2026-09-25
$8.50
8/17/2026, 11:29:52 PM
2026-10-02
$9.00
8/17/2026, 11:29:52 PM
2026-10-16
$8.00
8/17/2026, 11:29:52 PM
2026-11-20
$8.00
8/17/2026, 11:29:52 PM
2027-01-15
$5.00
8/17/2026, 11:29:52 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $8.00.
POET pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
1
0
17451450
17451450
2
3100
14389150
14392250
3
19300
11372350
11391650
4
46000
9133750
9179750
5
74100
6907550
6981650
5.5
97800
5878250
5976050
6
128700
4906250
5034950
6.5
192500
4042600
4235100
7
281700
3192800
3474500
7.5
589250
2418300
3007550
8
1139350
1677850
2817200
8.5
2010950
1218100
3229050
9
2929600
797650
3727250
9.5
4315600
626350
4941950
10
5897550
489800
6387350
10.5
7924400
398700
8323100
11
10109150
310900
10420050
11.5
12620100
255900
12876000
12
15151700
201400
15353100
12.5
17917750
169750
18087500
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.