This page reflects TIC options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Aug 21, 2026 close
Max Pain — TIC
Data as of market close Aug 21, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-09-18 shows max pain at $10.00 (0.49 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$10.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$1.08
±11.3%
Days to Expiry
28
Calendar days
Total Call OI
4,108
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
21,412
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
5.21
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$9.51
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-09-18
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-07-17
$10.00
7/17/2026, 11:33:30 PM
2026-08-21Updated
$7.50
8/21/2026, 11:34:26 PM
2026-09-18Next
$10.00
8/21/2026, 11:34:26 PM
2026-12-18
$10.00
8/21/2026, 11:34:26 PM
2027-01-15
$10.00
8/21/2026, 11:34:26 PM
2027-03-19
$10.00
8/21/2026, 11:34:26 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-09-18 at max pain $10.00.
TIC pain by strike for 2026-09-18 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
2.5
0
16007750
16007750
5
500
10654750
10655250
7.5
3500
5301750
5305250
10
68500
0
68500
12.5
229500
0
229500
15
1173750
0
1173750
17.5
2181000
0
2181000
20
3198000
0
3198000
22.5
4225000
0
4225000
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.