could any pro shorters help cure a case of longitis.i have a long only mind and a fear of shorting even when long is wrong. what made you turn to the shorting side.it seems to be a negitive mindset. what are some of your best styles.the best intra day shorts i watch seem to short strenght by fading opening gaps or shorting pops intraday.most of the reading i do on shorting says to short below support.what works best for you. is it better to scale in or just short and take small losses till you catch it right?it seems that to make big money at shorting you have to take some pain.example.i know some guys who shorted EXPE starting in hi 70s.they rode that baby to 85 but made many points in the end. im interested in hearing some examples good and bad.tia lkh
My short answer is this: do whatever it takes to get used to playing both sides of the market, otherwise you are at an extreme disadvantage to other traders. Taking a short does not in any way imply that you have to "take some pain". Strict trading rules should apply to longs and shorts. If this seems like a radical concept, then - excuse my bluntness - stop trading and re-examine the basics.
When did you start trading? I dont see how anyone starting trading in the last two years could have "longitus". I have the opposite problem. I dont want to go long. Its not a problem in this market but probably will be IF we get back to a bull market.
IKH- i had the long only disease too...you have to get rid of it. I was a broker and thats all you ever learn there..even now when I hangout with my old broker buddies they always ask, "what are you buying?" Thats the culture... find out why you're taking long positions...are they breaking out? are they hitting support? are they trending up? then look for stocks doing the reverse. as for me, generally I like to short stocks on down market days and go long on strong days. Thats intraday... good luck.
Turn your monitor upside downd...thats funny AS with everything else with trading, the school of hard knocks always seems to take care of the problem one way or another. To get you started you have to pull the trigger....to help you with this, start with a small amount of shares and keep you stops tight. Here is a simple setup for you to try: 1. Stocks usually trend downward during the noon hours...not always but usually. 2. Look for a stock that has gapped up significantly....do not short the first high pivot point....wait . 3. As the day progresses onward you will probably find that the stock will be in a trading range...sideward. 4. Look for a breakdown in the indexes and possibly some bad news. 5. Use all the other indicators that you normally are used to using to help you decided when the breakdown will occur. Finally, because you always like to go long, this is going to be an asset for you...your used to looking for a setup that tells you to go long....contrary to this is the fact that your experience tells you when this is bad...so whenever you get that bad feeling in your gut for a long.....think .......short! Go ahead, get your feet wet...small amount of shares...keep your risk level down and pull the trigger.
The old saying that the risks of shorting are much higher because when you're long a stock it can only go to zero but a short can go to infinity is crap in a bear market. Lately many MORE stocks have gone to zero than infinity! So who's got the real risk?? You can lose your ass just as quickly in a dying long position, witness WCOM KM ENE etc etc etc. Also I feel much better about holding shorts on swing trades because any bad news or analyst downgrades will cause the stock to drop 10-25% where as seldom do they go up as much on upgrades. Gap downs are becoming much more prevalent lately and heaven forbid we have another terrorist attack of any significance anywhere I'd rather be on the short side.