Every trade comes down to one call: is price going up, or down? Bet on up and you go long. Bet on down and you go short.
The names sound odd at first. Buying first and profiting from a rise is long. Selling first and profiting from a fall is short. This lesson stays at the concept level, the contract mechanics come later, but you need to be equally comfortable with both sides.
Long and short
Going long is the intuitive side: you buy low and sell high, the way you’d think about buying anything that might appreciate. Going short is the mirror image: you sell high first, then buy back low. Selling before you buy feels backwards, but the maths is identical, just flipped.
Hold onto the two phrases: buy low, sell high for a long, sell high, buy back low for a short. Play both below and watch your profit move.
FIG 1.4.1·Long vs short
Long vs short: entry, stop, target
A position is a bet on direction with three prices set in advance: where you get in (entry), where you're wrong (stop), and where you take profit (target). Press play and watch the dollar tag as price moves.
You bought (went long) at 20,000, with a stop below and a target above. Price rises, every point is $2, and the run finishes at the target.
Play the Bullish (long) and Bearish (short) tabs and watch the dollar tag on the right climb as price moves your way. Then call profit or loss on the Quiz tab.
Quick check
You go long on MNQ at 20,000 with your stop at 19,950. Price drops to 19,950. What happened?
Takeaway
Every trade is either long (profiting from a rise) or short (profiting from a fall). Long is buy low, sell high. Short is the mirror: sell high, buy back low. Each one sets three prices up front: an entry, a stop where you’re wrong, and a target where you take profit. Be equally comfortable with both sides.