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Core Options · OPT-03b · Core

Bear-put debit vertical

How does bear-put debit vertical express a moderately bearish view?

One concept per page · original written lesson · 556 prose words · authored, not installed or production-approved

What you will learn and prerequisites

Read first: Read a contract and its premium, Rights, obligations and expiration, Defined payoff risk is not margin, Read the whole multi-leg ticket

A bear-put vertical buys the downside between two strikes. The higher put begins paying first; the lower short put eventually offsets additional gains. It fits a measured downside target more naturally than a thesis requiring unlimited crash participation.

Construction: read every leg

Buy the 105 put for 6.50 and sell the 100 put for 3.50. The debit is 300. The five-point width caps terminal value at 500, making maximum profit 200 and loss 300 before costs. Breakeven is the long strike minus debit: 102.

Read the ticket before the graph

BUY means you own an option right; SELL means you accept a short-option obligation. Positive quantities are long and negative quantities are short in the calculation. Check quantity, call/put, strike, multiplier and expiry before netting premium.

All legs in this example share November 20, 2026 expiration. The entry observation is October 6, 2026, with fictional QLT at 100. These are independent illustrative premiums, not a current option chain or executable quotes. The terminal diagram assumes every leg and any shares are resolved at one common settlement price.

Before expiry: time and volatility

Net Delta is generally negative, while curvature and volatility/time sensitivities change across strikes. A quick move below 100 need not make the pre-expiry closing quote equal the full width. Remaining time value still matters.

Manage the position deliberately

Compare available target distance with cost. When most possible value is already captured, weigh the small remaining reward against expiry and assignment risk. Use coordinated execution where available rather than stripping away protection first.

Fictional teaching ticket · no order submission

Bear-put debit vertical

QLT • reference spot $100 • independent illustrative prices • quote date 2026-10-06

Read action, quantity, type, strike, expiry, premium and multiplier before the payoff
ActionQtyTypeStrikeExpiryPremium/unitMultiplier
BUY1Put1052026-11-206.5100
SELL1Put1002026-11-203.5100
Opening option cash (+received / −paid)-300 USD
Entry option fees in cost variant1.3 USD
Shares included0
Joint-terminal results—not a guarantee of interim cash requirements
MeasureBefore costsAfter stated entry fees
Maximum terminal profit200198.7
Maximum terminal loss magnitude300301.3
Breakeven settlement price(s)102101.987

This is a mathematical expiry experiment using the displayed legs, not an executable quote. The slider range is not a risk limit.

$0.65 per option contract on entry only. No exit, assignment, financing or tax costs modeled.

Independent fictional premiums, not one simultaneous arbitrage-consistent chain. All legs realized simultaneously at intrinsic at the same expiry; terminal calculations do not model American early exercise, temporary unhedged positions, forced liquidation or live liquidity. Displayed chart domain is not a tail-risk cap.

From opening cash to a settlement result

Read the opening instructions: buy 1 105 put at 6.50; sell 1 100 put at 3.50. Option opening cash is $300.00 paid as a debit. A received credit is not earned profit while the obligation remains open.

Set the common settlement price to 101.00. Calls have intrinsic value max(S−K,0); puts have max(K−S,0). Subtract the opening premium from each intrinsic value, then multiply by signed quantity and the 100-unit multiplier. Shares contribute their price change from their own cost. The calculation popup shows every leg.

The combined result is $100.00 before costs and $98.70 after illustrative opening fees of $1.30. Exit fees, slippage, funding, dividends and taxes are not included. Opening fees are 0.65 per option contract, not a statement of any broker's pricing.

Maximum terminal profit is $200.00; maximum terminal loss magnitude is $300.00, before costs. Isolated zero-P/L settlement points in the model: 102. Move the scenario slider across each strike and explain why the slope changes there. A strike is a contract threshold, not a prediction.

This terminal model is useful for comparing risk shapes, but actual American-style assignment, share delivery, forced liquidation or a failed multi-leg exit can produce a different path. A long protective leg is not an automatic instruction that a broker must exercise it when another leg is assigned.

Open the calculation without leaving this lesson

Calculate this exact ticket

Same-page calculation. Closing restores the lesson position and originating control.

P/L = Σ[q × multiplier × (intrinsic − opening premium)] + shares × (S−share entry) − costs

Intrinsic is nonnegative before the signed quantity is applied. This is a fictional terminal calculation.

  1. +1 × 100 × (4.00 − 6.50) = $-250.00: 105 put.
  2. -1 × 100 × (0.00 − 3.50) = $350.00: 100 put.
  3. Opening fees: 1.30.
Before costs $100.00; after entry fees only $98.70.

Maximum risk and breakevens

Same-page calculation. Closing restores the lesson position and originating control.

Evaluate S=0, all strikes and the final tail slope; solve P/L=0 on each linear segment.

Same-expiry payoffs are piecewise linear. A finite chart range cannot prove a tail is bounded.

  1. Maximum terminal profit is $200.00; maximum terminal loss magnitude is $300.00, before costs.
  2. Breakeven points: 102.
  3. Costs shift net P/L downward without moving the strikes.
Maximum terminal profit is $200.00; maximum terminal loss magnitude is $300.00, before costs.

The whole ticket at common expiry

Vertical: P/L per complete ticket (USD)
Horizontal: Underlying settlement price (USD)

The whole ticket at common expirySolid combined curve is before fees; the second includes only the stated entry fees. Individual-leg lines explain construction. This is terminal intrinsic P/L, not current option value. Price can move outside the displayed range. The complete numerical data are available below.-346.417-228.11-109.8038.5034126.81245.117859299106113120
1. Combined terminal P/L before fees2. Combined terminal P/L after entry fees
Solid combined curve is before fees; the second includes only the stated entry fees. Individual-leg lines explain construction. This is terminal intrinsic P/L, not current option value. Price can move outside the displayed range.
See the individual legs behind the combined curveThe whole ticket at common expirySolid combined curve is before fees; the second includes only the stated entry fees. Individual-leg lines explain construction. This is terminal intrinsic P/L, not current option value. Price can move outside the displayed range. The complete numerical data are available below.-1,375-785-1953959851,575859299106113120
1. Combined terminal P/L before fees2. Combined terminal P/L after entry fees3. Leg 1: BUY 1 105 put4. Leg 2: SELL 1 100 put
Read the graph as a data table
Complete graph data; original fictional observations or model calculations
Underlying settlement price (USD)Combined terminal P/L before feesCombined terminal P/L after entry feesLeg 1: BUY 1 105 putLeg 2: SELL 1 100 put
85200198.71,350-1,150
85.4375200198.71,306.25-1,106.25
85.875200198.71,262.5-1,062.5
86.3125200198.71,218.75-1,018.75
86.75200198.71,175-975
87.1875200198.71,131.25-931.25
87.625200198.71,087.5-887.5
88.0625200198.71,043.75-843.75
88.5200198.71,000-800
88.9375200198.7956.25-756.25
89.375200198.7912.5-712.5
89.8125200198.7868.75-668.75
90.25200198.7825-625
90.6875200198.7781.25-581.25
91.125200198.7737.5-537.5
91.5625200198.7693.75-493.75
92200198.7650-450
92.4375200198.7606.25-406.25
92.875200198.7562.5-362.5
93.3125200198.7518.75-318.75
93.75200198.7475-275
94.1875200198.7431.25-231.25
94.625200198.7387.5-187.5
95.0625200198.7343.75-143.75
95.5200198.7300-100
95.9375200198.7256.25-56.25
96.375200198.7212.5-12.5
96.8125200198.7168.7531.25
97.25200198.712575
97.6875200198.781.25118.75
98.125200198.737.5162.5
98.5625200198.7-6.25206.25
99200198.7-50250
99.4375200198.7-93.75293.75
99.875200198.7-137.5337.5
100200198.7-150350
100.312168.75167.45-181.25350
100.75125123.7-225350
101.18881.2579.95-268.75350
101.62537.536.2-312.5350
1020-1.3-350350
102.062-6.25-7.55-356.25350
102.5-50-51.3-400350
102.938-93.75-95.05-443.75350
103.375-137.5-138.8-487.5350
103.812-181.25-182.55-531.25350
104.25-225-226.3-575350
104.688-268.75-270.05-618.75350
105-300-301.3-650350
105.125-300-301.3-650350
105.562-300-301.3-650350
106-300-301.3-650350
106.438-300-301.3-650350
106.875-300-301.3-650350
107.312-300-301.3-650350
107.75-300-301.3-650350
108.188-300-301.3-650350
108.625-300-301.3-650350
109.062-300-301.3-650350
109.5-300-301.3-650350
109.938-300-301.3-650350
110.375-300-301.3-650350
110.812-300-301.3-650350
111.25-300-301.3-650350
111.688-300-301.3-650350
112.125-300-301.3-650350
112.562-300-301.3-650350
113-300-301.3-650350
113.438-300-301.3-650350
113.875-300-301.3-650350
114.312-300-301.3-650350
114.75-300-301.3-650350
115.188-300-301.3-650350
115.625-300-301.3-650350
116.062-300-301.3-650350
116.5-300-301.3-650350
116.938-300-301.3-650350
117.375-300-301.3-650350
117.812-300-301.3-650350
118.25-300-301.3-650350
118.688-300-301.3-650350
119.125-300-301.3-650350
119.562-300-301.3-650350
120-300-301.3-650350

The failure case

A settle at 104 gives only one point of spread value and loses 200. Buying after a large decline can leave too little additional reward relative to debit.

Check your understanding

Try the question before revealing its answer. These are reading checks, not trading certification or a site completion record.

What is whole-position terminal P/L at QLT 101.00, before costs?

Reveal the worked answer

$100.00

Use all signed legs, not just the winning leg. The popup and graph use the same ticket.

Critical risk question

Does a terminal loss bound guarantee every early-assignment or liquidation outcome?

Reveal the worked answer

No.

It describes the specified common-settlement payoff. Product rules, stock delivery, capital and execution still matter.

Takeaway

Explain the intended moderately bearish exposure, each leg's obligation and the adverse price region before using the strategy name.

Sources, assumptions and downloadable script

External references support definitions and conventions. Worked scenarios and prose are original. No current quotes or dealer inventory are claimed.

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