This page reflects VG 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 — VG
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $12.50 (1.70 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$12.50
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.73
±5.1%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
162,363
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
36,608
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.23
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$14.20
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
$13.00
8/7/2026, 11:40:26 PM
2026-08-14
$13.50
8/14/2026, 11:41:19 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$12.50
8/18/2026, 11:35:33 PM
2026-08-28
$12.50
8/18/2026, 11:35:33 PM
2026-09-04
$13.00
8/18/2026, 11:35:33 PM
2026-09-11
$14.00
8/18/2026, 11:35:33 PM
2026-09-18
$12.50
8/18/2026, 11:35:33 PM
2026-09-25
$13.50
8/18/2026, 11:35:33 PM
2026-10-02
$13.00
8/18/2026, 11:35:33 PM
2026-11-20
$12.50
8/18/2026, 11:35:33 PM
2026-12-18
$10.00
8/18/2026, 11:35:33 PM
2027-01-15
$12.50
8/18/2026, 11:35:33 PM
2027-02-19
$12.50
8/18/2026, 11:35:33 PM
2027-03-19
$10.00
8/18/2026, 11:35:33 PM
2027-05-21
$15.00
8/18/2026, 11:35:33 PM
2027-06-17
$15.00
8/18/2026, 11:35:33 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $12.50.
VG pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
2.5
0
30481850
30481850
4
1800
24991550
24993350
5
3200
21334450
21337650
6
11900
17712150
17724050
7
20900
14089950
14110850
7.5
25500
12278850
12304350
8
58250
10754900
10813150
8.5
91200
9230950
9322150
9
124250
7707000
7831250
9.5
157450
6183200
6340650
10
190750
4659750
4850500
10.5
268600
3838450
4107050
11
347900
3020500
3368400
11.5
428750
2214950
2643700
12
510150
1420250
1930400
12.5
603250
655650
1258900
13
1992100
430800
2422900
13.5
3409100
253750
3662850
14
4856500
142850
4999350
14.5
8156800
61000
8217800
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.