OptionHistoryDesk / GuidesOptions Positioning & Max Pain History / guides Options history guides Short, source-linked explanations of the terms and methods OptionHistoryDesk uses. No live market data, no per-ticker figures: each guide covers a method or a definition you can check by hand.
How OptionHistoryDesk calculates your result Inspect user-owned open-interest snapshots, reproduce max-pain calculations, and compare history only when expiry, timestamp, and data rights align. OptionHistoryDesk: a verification checklist A useful result is one you can explain, reproduce, and challenge. How to read option chain history An option chain history is a series of dated snapshots, not a single live quote. Read it snapshot by snapshot, one expiry at a time. Open interest vs option volume Open interest and volume both describe activity in an option contract, but they answer different questions and should never be added together. How to calculate max pain Max pain is arithmetic on a single dated snapshot: the settlement strike where total intrinsic payout to option holders is lowest. Put/call open interest ratio, explained The put/call open-interest ratio divides total put open interest by total call open interest for one underlying and expiry, on one snapshot date. Importing option chain snapshots A clean import keeps history usable later. Check these fields before an option chain snapshot goes into any local archive or tool. Options expiration calendar Every standard monthly expiration date, sourced from the OCC listing cycle.