This page reflects SOC 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 — SOC
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $4.50 (0.51 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$4.50
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.40
±9.9%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
33,518
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
22,472
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.67
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$3.99
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
$4.50
8/7/2026, 11:32:15 PM
2026-08-14
$4.50
8/14/2026, 11:37:53 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$4.50
8/18/2026, 11:36:19 PM
2026-08-28
$5.00
8/18/2026, 11:36:19 PM
2026-09-04
$3.50
8/18/2026, 11:36:19 PM
2026-09-11
$1.00
8/18/2026, 11:36:19 PM
2026-09-18
$5.00
8/18/2026, 11:36:19 PM
2026-09-25
$2.00
8/18/2026, 11:36:19 PM
2026-10-02
$8.00
8/18/2026, 11:36:19 PM
2026-10-16
$5.00
8/18/2026, 11:36:19 PM
2027-01-15
$5.00
8/18/2026, 11:36:19 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $4.50.
SOC pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
0.5
0
10395300
10395300
1
50
9271700
9271750
1.5
300
8148250
8148550
2
800
7024800
7025600
2.5
1800
5919550
5921350
3
3200
4816450
4819650
3.5
16650
4041200
4057850
4
30600
3341800
3372400
4.5
258000
2915300
3173300
5
625300
2549450
3174750
5.5
1581750
2221800
3803550
6
2588950
1894200
4483150
6.5
3720550
1573550
5294100
7
4860800
1257700
6118500
7.5
6019650
948300
6967950
8
7182200
639550
7821750
8.5
8459800
333200
8793000
9
9737650
27600
9765250
10
12317950
17800
12335750
11
14925250
13100
14938350
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.