This page reflects VAL options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Oct 2, 2026 close
Max Pain — VAL
Data as of market close Oct 2, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-10-16 shows max pain at $85.00 (6.61 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$85.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$2.38
±3.0%
Days to Expiry
14
Calendar days
Total Call OI
547
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
244
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.45
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$78.39
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-10-16
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-08-21
$80.00
8/21/2026, 11:36:46 PM
2026-09-18
$80.00
9/18/2026, 11:36:04 PM
2026-10-16NextUpdated
$85.00
10/2/2026, 11:32:43 PM
2026-11-20
$85.00
10/2/2026, 11:32:43 PM
2026-12-18
$70.00
10/2/2026, 11:32:43 PM
2027-01-15
$40.00
10/2/2026, 11:32:43 PM
2027-02-19
$85.00
10/2/2026, 11:32:43 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-10-16 at max pain $85.00.
VAL pain by strike for 2026-10-16 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
60
0
543000
543000
65
0
423500
423500
70
0
306500
306500
75
0
192500
192500
77.5
0
136000
136000
80
0
83250
83250
82.5
250
41000
41250
85
500
2500
3000
87.5
25250
1500
26750
90
75250
500
75750
92.5
176250
0
176250
95
307000
0
307000
97.5
442000
0
442000
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.