This page reflects VLO 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 — VLO
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $310.00 (40.05 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$310.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$11.70
±3.3%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
9,759
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
9,937
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
1.02
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$350.05
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
$300.00
8/7/2026, 11:37:27 PM
2026-08-14
$310.00
8/14/2026, 11:41:25 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$310.00
8/18/2026, 11:42:28 PM
2026-08-28
$325.00
8/18/2026, 11:42:28 PM
2026-09-04
$320.00
8/18/2026, 11:42:28 PM
2026-09-11
$315.00
8/18/2026, 11:42:28 PM
2026-09-18
$270.00
8/18/2026, 11:42:28 PM
2026-09-25
$310.00
8/18/2026, 11:42:28 PM
2026-10-02
$330.00
8/18/2026, 11:42:28 PM
2026-10-16
$340.00
8/18/2026, 11:42:28 PM
2026-12-18
$320.00
8/18/2026, 11:42:28 PM
2027-01-15
$200.00
8/18/2026, 11:42:28 PM
2027-03-19
$250.00
8/18/2026, 11:42:28 PM
2027-06-17
$280.00
8/18/2026, 11:42:28 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $310.00.
VLO pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
150
0
125169250
125169250
155
0
120202750
120202750
160
0
115302250
115302250
165
0
110402250
110402250
170
500
105604250
105604750
175
1000
100806750
100807750
180
1500
96009750
96011250
185
2000
91263250
91265250
190
2500
86525750
86528250
195
3000
81796750
81799750
200
3500
77095750
77099250
210
6500
67711750
67718250
220
9500
58739750
58749250
230
12500
49934750
49947250
235
14000
45579750
45593750
240
16000
41231250
41247250
245
19500
37424750
37444250
250
23000
33631750
33654750
255
66000
30096750
30162750
260
110500
26586250
26696750
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.