The sixth A14 campaign in my trading journal is closed.
On October 21, I closed the remaining position for $500.08 net profit, above the original $160 target, with two days remaining before the butterflies expired.
The trade needed both an upside and a downside adjustment. It also exposed something I need to be honest about: I have not been consistent with the management schedule.
From Entry to Two Adjustments
As covered in the entry article, I opened two SPX put broken-wing butterflies on October 9 at 10:35 a.m. ET, expiring October 23:
Buy 2 × 7,790 PUT @ 57.80
Sell 4 × 7,750 PUT @ 43.20
Buy 2 × 7,695 PUT @ 29.60
The 40/55 structure cost $200, with $3,200 modeled starting risk and a $160 net profit target.
That afternoon, SPX reached 7,815.17 at the scheduled review, above the upper long strike. At 3:50 p.m. ET, I added one 7,835 put calendar, selling October 23 and buying October 30.
Adjustment debit: $2,160.
On October 14, the market moved lower. A manual review at 11:24 a.m. ET, with SPX at 7,745.87, triggered the first downside adjustment. At 11:30 a.m., I closed the 7,835 calendar and opened a 7,735 put calendar, keeping the same expirations.
Net adjustment debit: $780.
The original butterflies remained unchanged throughout the campaign.
Where I Broke the Routine
The scheduled 3:30 p.m. New York review is 12:30 a.m. in Tashkent. Staying up for it every trading day has been harder than I expected. I find myself putting decisions off until the next session or acting outside the scheduled review.
That means I am breaking the timing rules. In this campaign, the downside calendar change happened intraday. From October 14 onward, the system also repeatedly recommended a second defensive step: moving one lower long put into the later expiration. I did not execute that adjustment.
The position went through a substantial drawdown. One saved review on October 16 showed an estimated net liquidation loss of $1,497.82. That is a recorded snapshot, rather than a measurement of the worst intraday loss.
The recovery eventually gave me a profitable exit. It does not establish that delaying or skipping the adjustments was the better decision.
Wednesday’s Exit
On October 21 at 9:34 a.m. ET, the take-profit execution closed all remaining legs for a 36.75 credit, receiving $3,675 before the closing commission.
The campaign finished fully closed, with no open legs remaining.
Final Trade Numbers
Opening butterflies: $200 debit
Upside calendar: $2,160 debit
Replacement with downside calendar: $780 net debit
Closing proceeds: $3,675
Gross profit: $535.00
Total commissions: $34.92
Final net profit: $500.08
The result was $340.08 above the original target. OptionStrat shows the $535 gross result; the journal deducts all recorded commissions.
👉 View the completed position on OptionStrat
👉 Review the complete campaign history
All’s well that ends well—this time. I am pleased with the result, but I still need to solve the midnight execution problem.
Disclaimer
All content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Any trades or strategies should be tested in a simulated environment before use. Trading involves risk, and all decisions are the sole responsibility of the reader.