This page reflects VPG 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 — VPG
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $70.00 (2.21 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$70.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$5.12
±7.6%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
5,076
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
815
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.16
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$67.79
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
2026-06-18
$65.00
6/18/2026, 11:38:02 PM
2026-07-17
$100.00
7/17/2026, 11:40:37 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$70.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:04 PM
2026-09-18
$75.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:04 PM
2026-11-20
$50.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:04 PM
2026-12-18
$90.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:04 PM
2027-01-15
$70.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:04 PM
2027-02-19
$95.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:04 PM
2027-03-19
$75.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:04 PM
2027-05-21
$80.00
8/18/2026, 11:38:04 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $70.00.
VPG pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
15
0
3942500
3942500
25
2000
3146500
3148500
30
5000
2748500
2753500
35
8000
2356000
2364000
40
11500
1963500
1975000
45
15500
1571000
1586500
50
20500
1178500
1199000
55
32500
787500
820000
60
44500
492000
536500
65
85500
316500
402000
70
150500
197500
348000
75
239500
117000
356500
80
361000
54000
415000
85
574000
28000
602000
90
911500
11000
922500
95
1291500
6000
1297500
100
1684500
5000
1689500
105
2159500
4500
2164000
110
2654000
4000
2658000
115
4164000
3500
4167500
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.