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Bear Put Spread (Debit)

directional Capped loss

Advanced: a defined-risk bearish bet.

When to use it

Buy a put, sell a lower put. Profits if the stock falls; max loss is the net debit. Best in a confirmed downtrend.

Max profit

Strike width minus the debit paid.

Max loss

The net debit paid.

Payoff at expiry
illustrative shape — not to scale
profit zone loss zone X axis = stock price at expiry →
How it's built

Strikes shown low→high. Sell = collect premium · Buy = pay premium for protection or upside.

Hermes-evaluated setups

Best backtested per-ticker setups for this strategy. None currently clear our 80% conviction floor (common for directional / long-volatility structures, which win less often but pay more when they hit) — shown for completeness over ≥20 trades. Win rate is confidence-adjusted (95% lower bound); Avg P/L is per one-contract position.

Ticker Win Rate Avg P/L Sharpe Trades DTE
LCID 53% +$157.00 1.6 31 30
DIS 59% +$148.00 1.5 42 21
ROKU 61% +$131.00 1.4 42 21
SQQQ 52% +$124.00 1.0 30 30
VXX 70% +$100.00 2.3 30 30
ASML 59% +$98.00 0.9 42 21
DE 59% +$95.00 1.0 42 21
BABA 59% +$92.00 1.1 30 30

Backtested results are not a guarantee of future performance.