Max Pain
The strike where option buyers collectively lose the most at expiration — where market makers have the least to pay out. Price often gravitates toward max pain into expiry. Live levels for the indices, plus a calculator for any chain.
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Max pain calculator
Pick a symbol and the live spot loads as the center. Set an increment and range to generate the strike grid, then enter call / put open interest per strike. Max pain is the strike where option buyers collectively lose the most — where the total in-the-money value owed is lowest.
17 strikes from 5,800 to 6,200 (live spot unavailable — using default center)
| Strike | Call OI | Put OI |
|---|---|---|
| 5,800 | ||
| 5,825 | ||
| 5,850 | ||
| 5,875 | ||
| 5,900 | ||
| 5,925 | ||
| 5,950 | ||
| 5,975 | ||
| 6,000 | ||
| 6,025 | ||
| 6,050 | ||
| 6,075 | ||
| 6,100 | ||
| 6,125 | ||
| 6,150 | ||
| 6,175 | ||
| 6,200 |
Enter open interest for at least two strikes to compute max pain. OI for index options is published on your broker's option chain.