Sle, with all due respect the trader was not blown up on long tail puts...he changed the trade with delta hedging , etc..that's what blew him up. I have done in the past with vx spreads...do a long vol fly, then Frankenstein it by reducing the long vol wing planning on putting them back on in better terms, never happens...there is a lot that is non intuitive in vol space. For me it's continously raising disipline and rules.