Max pain
Also called: maximum pain, option max pain, max pain strike.
Formula
Call value = max(0, expiry level − strike) × call OI. Put value = max(0, strike − expiry level) × put OI. Add every row. Pick the shown strike with the smallest total.
How it is read
Take a practice chain with 11 strikes. At 24,700, the total is 13,61,500 OI times points. At 24,650, it is 14,14,650. At 24,750, it is 19,28,100. The smallest total across all shown strikes is at 24,700. That is this table's max pain. Lot size is the same across these rows, so it is left out. These are practice figures.
What it does not tell you
This is a snapshot of 1 OI table and arithmetic at expiry. It does not predict the closing price. Price can end far from this strike. Changed OI or a different set of strikes can change the answer. Premiums paid, fees and trades closed before expiry are outside this sum.
See it in an experiment
Change one input in Market X-Ray and watch what happens.
Market X-Ray: Open Interest — What actually changes when open interest moves?
Related concepts
Open Interest as Evidence: What the Count Can and Cannot Support
Open interest measures how many derivative contracts are outstanding. That is a measurement. A forecast is a story about what the holders of those contracts will do next. The count alone does not give you that story. The gap between the two is where most open interest commentary sits: an exact number carrying a meaning the number never earned.
Open the lesson