A refined calculation method which is used for determining option pain and therefore it is more accurate than option pain, under certain conditions and circumstances. This method doesn’t take into account intraday data, but rather the previous trading day data. While option pain is calculated based on all outstanding options in the market (open interest), actual pain embarks only on options sold since last option expiration. That is, options sold several months ago are particularly irrelevant to the current market condition. However, this calculation will be expected to lack accuracy within the first days of a new expiration month.

The actual pain is also known as relative pain or current option pain.