This page reflects VRT options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Aug 19, 2026 close
Max Pain — VRT
Data as of market close Aug 19, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $285.00 (24.00 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$285.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$9.53
±3.6%
Days to Expiry
2
Calendar days
Total Call OI
32,407
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
57,443
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
1.77
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$261.00
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
$260.00
8/7/2026, 11:38:37 PM
2026-08-14
$277.50
8/14/2026, 11:42:28 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$285.00
8/19/2026, 11:43:18 PM
2026-08-28
$270.00
8/19/2026, 11:43:18 PM
2026-09-04
$270.00
8/19/2026, 11:43:18 PM
2026-09-11
$280.00
8/19/2026, 11:43:18 PM
2026-09-18
$270.00
8/19/2026, 11:43:18 PM
2026-09-25
$290.00
8/19/2026, 11:43:18 PM
2026-10-02
$290.00
8/19/2026, 11:43:18 PM
2026-10-16
$290.00
8/19/2026, 11:43:18 PM
2026-11-20
$250.00
8/19/2026, 11:43:18 PM
2026-12-18
$260.00
8/19/2026, 11:43:18 PM
2027-01-15
$175.00
8/19/2026, 11:43:18 PM
2027-03-19
$300.00
8/19/2026, 11:43:18 PM
2027-06-17
$290.00
8/19/2026, 11:43:18 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $285.00.
VRT pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
115
0
656924000
656924000
130
0
570767000
570767000
145
0
484610000
484610000
150
0
455891500
455891500
155
20500
427196500
427217000
160
42000
398528500
398570500
165
65500
369880000
369945500
170
90500
341300500
341391000
175
126500
312828000
312954500
180
170000
285271000
285441000
185
227500
259132000
259359500
190
291000
233618500
233909500
195
366500
208378500
208745000
200
459000
184458500
184917500
202.5
525250
173850250
174375500
205
591500
163258750
163850250
210
726500
142075750
142802250
215
880000
126795250
127675250
220
1034500
111790750
112825250
225
1210500
98909750
100120250
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.