The other half of the day
This is the trade that won on 04-08, and it's the reason I wrote the MIDCPNIFTY post first. Same session, same idea, same structure, opposite result — and I want to be careful about what "opposite result" actually bought me.
Same read as the MIDCPNIFTY trade: a bearish chart breakdown, expressed by selling a call. Same margin problem, same fix — sell the near call, buy a further one against it to bring the margin down. A bear call spread.
The trade
| Leg | Strike | Action | Premium | Lots | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short call | 57800 CE | Sell | 710.00 | 3 | 90 |
| Long call (hedge) | 58300 CE | Buy | 473.38 | 3 | 90 |
BankNifty lot size is 30, so 3 lots = 90 units.
The math
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Net credit / unit | 710.00 − 473.38 = 236.62 |
| Total credit | 236.62 × 90 = ₹21,295.80 |
| Spread width | 58300 − 57800 = 500 |
| Max profit | ₹21,295.80 (below 57800) |
| Max loss | (500 − 236.62) × 90 = ₹23,704.20 (above 58300) |
| Breakeven | 57800 + 236.62 = 58036.62 |
| Result | +₹1,163 (≈ 13 points of spread value in my favour) |
Scrutinising the win
The number is green, so here's the part I have to force myself to look at. I collected ₹21,296 of maximum profit potential and walked away with ₹1,163. That's about 5% of the max. This wasn't the setup working cleanly and me riding it — it was a small favourable drift and an early exit. The spread barely moved my way, from 236.62 to roughly 224, and I took it off.
If I credited this to skill I'd be lying to myself. On the day, BankNifty happened to hold below the short strike long enough for the spread to decay a little, and MIDCPNIFTY didn't. Same read, two instruments, and the market handed one of them to me and took the other back. That's regime and luck splitting a coin, not two independent good decisions.
The pair, netted
The honest scorecard for 04-08 isn't "MIDCPNIFTY −1,935, BankNifty +1,163, roughly break-even, not bad." It's this:
| Trade | Direction | Structure | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| MIDCPNIFTY 14900/15100 CE | Bearish | Bear call spread | −₹1,935 |
| BankNifty 57800/58300 CE | Bearish | Bear call spread | +₹1,163 |
| Net | Same bet, twice | −₹772 |
Both trades were bearish call spreads on index products in the same session. That is one view, expressed twice, on two tickers. It reads like diversification — two different instruments! — and it is nothing of the sort. When the broad move went against short-vol-on-the-upside, both trades felt it; the only reason the pair netted a small loss instead of a bigger one is that BankNifty's leg lagged the move. I keep promising myself a single net-exposure view across systems so I stop mistaking "two tickers" for "two bets." I still don't have it. That's the standing hole, shown here in a cheap way instead of an expensive one.
The hedge, again, wasn't discipline — it was margin. But margin-forced or not, capping both legs is what kept a wrong-way session to −₹772 instead of something with a tail on it.
Disclaimer
This is a personal trading journal. It is a record of my own trades, my own money and my own mistakes — nothing more.
Nothing here is a trade recommendation, a tip, a call, or advice of any kind. I am not a registered adviser and I am not qualified to tell anyone what to do with their capital. The strikes, premiums, entries and exits above are what I did, not what you should do.
If you read this blog and place a trade because of it, that trade is yours. I accept no responsibility for anyone else's losses. Do your own research, size for your own risk, and understand that options can lose you more, faster, than you expect.