Do you sell short too much?

[Dogpile 10]

Its funny but many of the traders I interact with seem to be obsessed with shorting. Do you short more than you go long? Do you get more pleasure out of having a big day on a big market down day? What is it about shorting that is so attractive? The S&Ps were up over 1% in August -- despite an onslaught of bad/scary news.

 

This thread is for holding hands together and all vowing to make more money on the long side from here until death.

[torero 10]

I don't keep tabs on longs compared to shorts, only on its own in terms of profitability. I short when the markets show weakness and long when the markets show strength. This past month, the sellers are the ones making money (fast money) due to the drop. Just the same as the longs who got in from the recovery near end of August. This type of analysis and questions build biases one over the other. Traders should use and be comfortable with both weapons to make money. It's like using one leg to walk or run.

[brownsfan019 17]

Dog - good post. I think many daytraders love to make money when the market drops and love to try to call the top.

 

And I think the reason is easy - we all know that usually, a dropping market will make money much quicker than a rising one. So, if you are right on your trade, you can make money rather quickly on a good short. The catch of course being that if you get too short happy, as you've brought up here, it can bite you in the butt.

 

I'm with Tor in terms of simply trying to trade with the bulls or bears each day and not looking for trades on one side. It is my hope that if Open ECry gets connected with TraderDNA, that I can then say with statistical certainty whether I am more of a short or long trader. I would say this though - I think the shorts I take (over time) are more profitable than the long trades. That could be a reason for the short bias for traders as well. But to avoid the long trades would be a recipe for disaster.

[walterw 10]

I have to agree with Brown on the fact as per my experience too that down moves are much faster than up moves... its quicker and its like the emotion related to this type of move is more panic rather than greed... but anyway I must say that trading any side is sweet if your aproach is working ok... cheers Walter.

[torero 10]

I think it takes more patience to hold longs because the trade takes time to develop and come to fruition. Shorts are fairly easy because the drop is quick and for scalpers it's a heavenly trade. To really milk it, it takes time to see the drop go farther. But I agree shorts are easier to trade than longs.

[The Bear 10]

What is it about shorting that is so attractive?

 

It is the perfect operation for an exploiter.