QQQ straddle got crushed by max pain and it played out exactly how it was supposed to

Had a $QQQ straddle on, started the day up $250 on puts and down $230 on calls. Classic setup, right? Then watched both legs bleed out as price just... Sat there near max pain.

Max pain was around $705 at open, then crept up to $708.50 as put holders started closing their $690s and half their $700 strikes. Price followed it like a magnet. Puts lost value. Calls never got going because $713+ was the breakeven. Stuck in the middle.

Checked the options flow on moomoo and the positioning made total sense in hindsight. Market makers don't need price to move, they just need it to stay exactly where everyone gets hurt most. Nobody was winning at that level, which is kind of the whole point.

Been in options long enough to know max pain is real but still got caught leaning the wrong way. The range was $704-$706.50 all morning and I kept thinking a breakout was coming.

Anyone else run straddles into expiration and get pinned like this? Feels like the only way to play it is to get out before the gravitational pull kicks in, but timing that is another problem entirely.