Options Key Levels

Modified on Thu, 13 Aug at 4:33 PM

Options Key Levels calculates important option-based levels and draws them as horizontal lines on the chart of the underlying instrument.

The indicator helps you see support and resistance candidates derived from options positioning. It is most useful when you want option-based levels without reading the full option chain manually.

Before you start

Make sure that your connected data provider supports options and provides options data for the selected underlying instrument. Data availability depends on the provider, account permissions, instrument, and market data subscription. Options data can be available through Interactive Brokers or Rithmic, depending on your setup.

How option analytics indicators work

Option analytics indicators subscribe to a range of option strikes around the current underlying price for the selected expiration series. ATAS receives live market data such as bid, ask, last price, open interest, and day volume.

Values such as implied volatility and Greeks are calculated in ATAS from the available option prices. The indicators then aggregate the data by strike, expiration, side, or time interval and display the result on the chart.

What Options Key Levels shows

MAX PAIN is the price where the largest amount of option premium would expire worthless.
CALL WALL is a strike with strong call-side exposure above the market and can act as a resistance candidate.
PUT WALL is a strike with strong put-side exposure below the market and can act as a support or acceleration candidate.
Volume levels optionally show strikes with the largest day volume.

Why it is useful

The indicator gives ready-to-use support and resistance candidates calculated from options data. These levels can be especially useful near expiration, when options positioning may have a stronger effect on price behavior.

How it works

Max Pain is calculated by checking candidate strikes and estimating where the total payout to option holders would be the lowest at expiration.

Call Wall and Put Wall are calculated from option mass weighted by gamma and proximity to the current price. The same wall definition is used across the option analytics package, so Options Key Levels and Options GEX Profile should identify the same key strikes when they use the same settings.

Level labels automatically move apart when they overlap. Hovering over a level shows an explanatory tooltip.

Common Data settings

Setting	Description
Expiration	Selects which expiration series is analyzed. Auto (nearest) uses the nearest available expiration and switches to the next series after expiration.
Strikes per side	Defines how many strikes above and below the current price are included in the calculation.

Options Key Levels works with one expiration series because Max Pain from different expirations should not be merged.

Settings

Group	Setting	Description
Data	Expiration, Strikes per side	Defines the analyzed expiration and strike range.
Levels	Levels per type	Defines how many top levels of each type are shown.
Levels	Show max pain, Show call wall, Show put wall, Show volume levels	Shows or hides each level type.
Levels	Labels position	Controls where labels are placed: right, left, or center.
Visuals	Colors and line width	Controls the colors and thickness of Max Pain, wall, and volume lines.

Status chip

The status chip shows the selected expiration, days to expiration, and the number of subscribed option contracts. It can also show warm-up progress or connection warnings.

Practical recommendations

Use MAX PAIN as an expiration-related reference level, not as a guaranteed target.
Compare CALL WALL and PUT WALL with visible support and resistance areas on the chart.
Near expiration, watch whether price reacts around the displayed walls or crosses them with strong volume.
The value in a wall label shows the strength of the level. Larger values usually indicate more important levels.
The calculation uses the subscribed strike range, so strikes outside this range are not included.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the indicator need time to warm up?

The indicator has to subscribe to multiple option contracts and collect enough quotes for the selected strike and expiration range.

Why do levels differ from other services?

Different tools may use different data sources, expiration filters, strike ranges, open interest update timing, implied volatility methods, or wall definitions.

What should I check if the indicator shows no data?

Check that your connection provides options data for the selected underlying instrument, that the required market data subscription is active, and that the selected expiration range contains available option contracts.

Indicator settings window
Indicators Navigation on Chart