An options chain lists all available Call (CE) and Put (PE) contracts at different strike prices for a given expiry. Each row shows Open Interest (OI) — the number of active contracts — along with trading Volume and Last Traded Price (LTP). Traders use it to identify support, resistance, sentiment and where smart money is positioned.
OI change tracks how positions are building or unwinding since market open (9:15 AM). When Call OI increases at a strike, option writers are adding short positions — betting the index WON'T cross that level. That strike becomes stronger resistance. When Put OI increases, writers are adding support bets. Monitoring OI change intraday tells you where institutional money is actively defending levels.
Each strike is classified into one of four states: Bull Build (call OI down + put OI up — institutional support growing), Bear Build (call OI up + put OI down — resistance strengthening), Hedge (both OI rising — uncertainty, straddle activity), or Unwind (both OI falling — positions being closed before expiry).
Max Pain is the strike where option writers collectively lose the least money if price expires there. Institutions actively manage positions to keep price near Max Pain, especially in the last 60–90 minutes of expiry day. The signal shows how far current price is from Max Pain and which direction it may gravitate.
When OI at any strike exceeds 3x the average OI across all strikes, AKTV flags it with 👁. This indicates a large institutional or "operator" position at that level. Such strikes often act as hard resistance or support because the writer must defend their position to avoid heavy losses.
The Theta/hr card shows how much the ATM option premium is losing every hour purely from time decay. A theta of ₹15/hr means the ATM straddle loses ₹15 in value every hour even if price doesn't move. This accelerates dramatically in the last 2 days before expiry — use this to decide whether to buy or sell options.
When AKTV Sniper fires a bullish signal at 23,600 CE, cross-check the options chain: Is call OI at 23,600 low (not a wall)? Is PCR above 0.9? Is the strike near or above Max Pain? All three confirming = higher-quality trade setup. This three-step check significantly improves signal quality and filters out false breakouts.