Option Chains are a way to look at possible pinning of stock price if the MM (Market Maker) is in control of the stock price. Max Pain theory says that the option sellers (called writers) have stock on hand to fulfill the options if they are exercised. These stock positions are maintained to minimize risk to the sellers, and this maintenance affects the stock price. This article is a discussion of max pain with Neil Pearsons, Illinois Professor of Financial Markets.

Option trading needs a lot of expertise and can be extremely profitable if you know how. We recommend Raging Bull as our affiliate partner to help users learn how to trade options and get comfortable with different trading strategies. Options trading may seem overwhelming at first, but it's easy to understand if you know a few key points . Investor portfolios are usually constructed with several asset classes. These may be stocks, bonds, ETFs, and even mutual funds. Options are another asset class, and when used correctly, they offer many advantages that trading stocks and ETFs alone cannot.