04 · Defined-risk options

Vertical spreads journal

My current options strategy is defined-risk vertical spreads on large, liquid stocks. This is an evolving personal process with a limited sample size. Every completed spread is listed below, winners and losers alike.

Synced automatically from my trade journal, last updated Oct 14, 2026.

Realized P&L

+$781 (gain)

Through Oct 9, 2026

Completed spreads

Apr 10, 2026 – Oct 9, 2026

Win rate

50%

7 winners · 6 losers · 1 flat (flat counted as a trade)

Aggregate tracked return

+16.7% (gain)

Realized P&L ÷ total debit deployed ($4,671)

Sample size: 14 trades

These figures are not annualized and not extrapolated. Fourteen trades can't establish whether the process has an edge. They show what happened, nothing more.

Process

How a trade gets on

Large-cap, liquid underlyings only
Chart first: trend, support and resistance
20 EMA, 50 SMA and 200 SMA for trend context
RSI and volume to confirm or reject the setup
Debit vertical spreads, so maximum loss is defined at entry
Typically multi-week holding periods
Disciplined position sizing
Invalidation level and exit plan decided before entry

Why vertical spreads

Buying a spread instead of a single option caps both the cost and the upside. The worst case is known when the trade is placed, which makes position sizing a deliberate decision rather than a guess.

Earlier experiments with single-leg calls, puts and LEAPS are not part of this journal; the numbers here cover vertical spreads only.

Current positions

Open spreads

NVDA

Bear Put Spread · 230 / 225 · exp. Nov 28, 2026

Synced October 14, 2026

Open

Entry debit: $2.10 ($210)
Max profit: $290
Max loss: $210
Breakeven: $227.90
Take-profit (75% of max): +$217.50
Stop (50% of risk): −$105
Opened: Oct 9, 2026
Underlying at snapshot: $229.20

Entry terms and risk levels only, no live option pricing. Take-profit and stop are reference levels from my framework.

Results

What the record shows

Cumulative realized P&L

By trade number, in order of close date.

As of Oct 9, 2026n = 14

View data table

#	Ticker	Closed	P&L	Cumulative
1	NKE	2026-04-10	−$108	−$108
2	XOM	2026-04-14	−$131	−$239
3	NVDA	2026-04-17	+$197	−$42
4	AMZN	2026-04-23	+$359	+$317
5	AMZN	2026-04-28	+$70	+$387
6	MSFT	2026-04-28	$0	+$387
7	NFLX	2026-05-06	−$104	+$283
8	NVDA	2026-05-13	+$191	+$474
9	NVDA	2026-05-19	+$160	+$634
10	META	2026-05-28	+$202	+$836
11	NVDA	2026-06-23	−$310	+$526
12	NVDA	2026-10-06	+$335	+$861
13	AMZN	2026-10-07	−$69	+$792
14	NVDA	2026-10-09	−$11	+$781

P&L by trade

Each bar is one completed spread, in close order.

GainLoss

As of Oct 9, 2026n = 14

P&L by ticker

As of Oct 9, 2026

View data table

Ticker	Trades	Realized P&L
NVDA	6	+$562
AMZN	3	+$360
META	1	+$202
MSFT	1	$0
NFLX	1	−$104
NKE	1	−$108
XOM	1	−$131

Winners vs. losers

Winners7
Losers6
Flat1

As of Oct 9, 2026n = 14

Average winner

+$216 (gain)

7 trades

Average loser

−$122 (loss)

6 trades

Spread types

Bull Call Spread13+$792 (gain)
Bear Put Spread1−$11 (loss)

Trade timeline

Holding period of each spread, from entry to close.

GainLossFlat

AprMayJunJulAugSepOct

#1 NKE
#2 XOM
#3 NVDA
#4 AMZN
#5 AMZN
#6 MSFT
#7 NFLX
#8 NVDA
#9 NVDA
#10 META
#11 NVDA
#12 NVDA
#13 AMZN
#14 NVDA

As of Oct 9, 2026

Expectancy and similar per-trade statistics are withheld until at least 30 trades exist.

Journal

Every completed spread

Newest first. Expand a trade for entry, risk, exit and notes.

#14#14 NVDABear Put Spread · 230 / 225 · closed Oct 9, 2026−3.8%−$11

Entry: Oct 9, 2026
Close: Oct 9, 2026
Held: 0 days
Contracts: 1
Debit / spread: $2.92
Defined max risk: $292
Exit value / spread: $2.81
P&L / return: −$11 (loss) · −3.8% (loss)

Trade notes not yet added.

#13#13 AMZNBull Call Spread · 255 / 260 · closed Oct 7, 2026−27.8%−$69

Entry: Sep 10, 2026
Close: Oct 7, 2026
Held: 27 days
Contracts: 1
Debit / spread: $2.48
Defined max risk: $248
Exit value / spread: $1.79
P&L / return: −$69 (loss) · −27.8% (loss)

Trade notes not yet added.

#12#12 NVDABull Call Spread · 225.5 / 230 · closed Oct 6, 2026+100.0%+$335

Entry: Sep 21, 2026
Close: Oct 6, 2026
Held: 15 days
Contracts: 1
Debit / spread: $3.35
Defined max risk: $335
Exit value / spread: $6.70
P&L / return: +$335 (gain) · +100.0% (gain)

Trade notes not yet added.

#11#11 NVDABull Call Spread · 215 / 225 · closed Jun 23, 2026−64.9%−$310

Entry: May 21, 2026
Close: Jun 23, 2026
Held: 33 days
Contracts: 1
Debit / spread: $4.78
Defined max risk: $478
Exit value / spread: $1.68
P&L / return: −$310 (loss) · −64.9% (loss)

Trade notes not yet added.

#10#10 METABull Call Spread · 610 / 620 · closed May 28, 2026+42.1%+$202

Entry: Apr 30, 2026
Close: May 28, 2026
Held: 28 days
Contracts: 1
Debit / spread: $4.80
Defined max risk: $480
Exit value / spread: $6.82
P&L / return: +$202 (gain) · +42.1% (gain)

Trade notes not yet added.

#9#9 NVDABull Call Spread · 210 / 220 · closed May 19, 2026+36.1%+$160

Entry: Apr 28, 2026
Close: May 19, 2026
Held: 21 days
Contracts: 1
Debit / spread: $4.43
Defined max risk: $443
Exit value / spread: $6.03
P&L / return: +$160 (gain) · +36.1% (gain)

Trade notes not yet added.

#8#8 NVDABull Call Spread · 200 / 205 · closed May 13, 2026+77.6%+$191

Entry: Apr 22, 2026
Close: May 13, 2026
Held: 21 days
Contracts: 1
Debit / spread: $2.46
Defined max risk: $246
Exit value / spread: $4.37
P&L / return: +$191 (gain) · +77.6% (gain)

Notes: NVDA $200/$205 call spread — breakeven $202.46. Max profit $254, max loss $246.

#7#7 NFLXBull Call Spread · 90 / 100 · closed May 6, 2026−49.5%−$104

Entry: Apr 28, 2026
Close: May 6, 2026
Held: 8 days
Contracts: 1
Debit / spread: $2.10
Defined max risk: $210
Exit value / spread: $1.06
P&L / return: −$104 (loss) · −49.5% (loss)

Trade notes not yet added.

#6#6 MSFTBull Call Spread · 420 / 425 · closed Apr 28, 20260.0%$0

Entry: Apr 23, 2026
Close: Apr 28, 2026
Held: 5 days
Contracts: 1
Debit / spread: $2.60
Defined max risk: $260
Exit value / spread: $2.60
P&L / return: $0 (flat) · 0.0% (flat)

Notes: MSFT $420/$425 call spread — breakeven $422.60. Max profit $243, max loss $260.

#5#5 AMZNBull Call Spread · 250 / 260 · closed Apr 28, 2026+14.0%+$70

Entry: Apr 17, 2026
Close: Apr 28, 2026
Held: 11 days
Contracts: 1
Debit / spread: $5.00
Defined max risk: $500
Exit value / spread: $5.70
P&L / return: +$70 (gain) · +14.0% (gain)

Notes: AMZN $250/$260 call spread — breakeven $255. Max profit $500, max loss $500.

#4#4 AMZNBull Call Spread · 215 / 225 · closed Apr 23, 2026+66.1%+$359

Entry: Apr 8, 2026
Close: Apr 23, 2026
Held: 15 days
Contracts: 1
Debit / spread: $5.43
Defined max risk: $543
Exit value / spread: $9.02
P&L / return: +$359 (gain) · +66.1% (gain)

Notes: AMZN $215/$225 — breakeven $220.43. Closed near 75% of max profit.

#3#3 NVDABull Call Spread · 175 / 180 · closed Apr 17, 2026+79.4%+$197

Entry: Mar 26, 2026
Close: Apr 17, 2026
Held: 22 days
Contracts: 1
Debit / spread: $2.48
Defined max risk: $248
Exit value / spread: $4.45
P&L / return: +$197 (gain) · +79.4% (gain)

Notes: NVDA $175/$180 — breakeven $177.48. Closed at TAKE PROFIT (75%+ of max).

#2#2 XOMBull Call Spread · 152.5 / 157 · closed Apr 14, 2026−47.1%−$131

Entry: Apr 13, 2026
Close: Apr 14, 2026
Held: 1 days
Contracts: 1
Debit / spread: $2.78
Defined max risk: $278
Exit value / spread: $1.47
P&L / return: −$131 (loss) · −47.1% (loss)

Notes: XOM $152.50/$157 — breakeven $155.28. Cut quickly after entry.

#1#1 NKEBull Call Spread · 50 / 52 · closed Apr 10, 2026−98.2%−$108

Entry: Mar 27, 2026
Close: Apr 10, 2026
Held: 14 days
Contracts: 1
Debit / spread: $1.10
Defined max risk: $110
Exit value / spread: $0.02
P&L / return: −$108 (loss) · −98.2% (loss)

Notes: NKE $50/$52 — breakeven $51.10. Stop loss hit, exited.