What is net P/L after 2.60 total fees on 120 gross profit?
Reveal the worked answer
117.40.
Reconcile both sides of the multi-leg execution.
Advanced Options · ADV-31 · Core
The advanced trade journal
What record makes a trade understandable afterward?
What you will learn and prerequisites
- Explain the mechanism in the lesson question.
- Reproduce the worked comparison and recognize its failure case.
Read first: Read a contract and its premium, Rights, obligations and expiration, Defined payoff risk is not margin, Read the whole multi-leg ticket
An options journal should capture the reasoning and exact exposure, not only the final profit. Written records let the learner revisit what was known, what was assumed and what changed.
A journal is most useful when it preserves the original thesis rather than rewriting it after the result.
Understand the mechanism
Record timestamps, symbols, expiries, signed quantities, fills, multipliers and costs. Add market and volatility theses, key Greeks, surface context and the management rule. Distinguish observed quotes from model marks.
Record failures, nonfills and passed trades consistently so the sample is not selected only from attractive outcomes.
Walk through the process
After closing, reconcile cash P/L first. Then assess whether the thesis, timing, structure and execution worked. A good process can lose; a weak process can get lucky.
Store revised assumptions as dated additions rather than replacing the earlier entry. This preserves learning and auditability.
Model and implementation boundary
These are complete fictional reading examples, not live opportunities. Terminal identities assume the stated common settlement. Multi-expiry values require a surviving-leg model. Costs, assignment and financing can alter realized outcomes; a mathematical bound alone does not guarantee the same operational loss path.
A worked example
A fictional bull-call spread enters for 2.00 and closes for 3.20, one standard unit. Gross profit is 120. Two contracts on entry cost 1.30 and the two closing contracts cost 1.30, leaving 117.40.
A useful note also records that the thesis was a moderate advance, upside was capped, the target arrived early and closing avoided later event exposure. The graph reconciles gross and cost components.
The advanced trade journal—worked comparison
Vertical: P/L contribution (USD)
Horizontal: Gross / entry fees / exit fees / net
1. Fictional example
Read the graph as a data table
| Gross / entry fees / exit fees / net | Fictional example |
|---|---|
| 1 | 120 |
| 2 | -1.3 |
| 3 | -1.3 |
| 4 | 117.4 |
What would invalidate the reading?
An outcome-only journal cannot distinguish repeatable logic from luck. Midpoint marks and omitted fees can also inflate recorded performance.
Check your understanding
Try the question before revealing its answer. These are reading checks, not trading certification or a site completion record.
What is the critical failure to avoid?
Reveal the worked answer
An outcome-only journal cannot distinguish repeatable logic from luck. Midpoint marks and omitted fees can also inflate recorded performance.
Explain this risk before treating the example as a decision rule. A correct calculation does not guarantee a favorable market outcome.
Return to the question: What record makes a trade understandable afterward? State the observed facts, the assumptions and the failure condition separately.
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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