Talking about Long and Short in trading, many people are still confused about their meanings and usage. So I want to share my perspective based on real market experience.

In trading, a Long Position means placing a buy order, expecting the price to go up, with a target to close the position to realize a profit. Imagine simply buying a product at 41 baht and expecting it to rise to 42 baht. When the price actually goes up, we sell it and make a 1 baht profit. That’s the principle: buy low - sell high. But if the price drops back to 40 baht and we need to close the position, it results in a loss instead.

As for a Short Position, it means selling first, expecting the price to fall. Traders close the position by buying back at a lower price to profit from the difference. For example, we sell a product at 41 baht, and then the price drops to 40 baht. We buy it back and make a 1 baht profit. In reality, both Long and Short allow us to profit from both upward and downward markets.

A real example from last month: I saw news that a company’s earnings improved, so I decided to Long 100 shares of that company at 350 baht, using 35,000 baht of capital. When other investors also heard the news, the price surged to 400 baht. I sold and made a 5,000 baht profit. That was a successful Long trade.

Another time, I heard rumors of supply chain issues, so I Shorted 100 shares of another company at 350 baht, receiving 35,000 baht. When the rumors proved true, the price dropped to 300 baht. I bought back at 300 baht, losing 30,000 baht, but closed the Short position with a 5,000 baht profit as well.

What I’ve learned is that Long and Short differ only in direction, but the profit mechanism is similar—buy/sell at one price and close the position at another. The key is to correctly predict the price direction, whether Long or Short.

These tools are more applicable to derivatives and CFDs. In regular stock markets, Short selling has restrictions. But with modern technology, traders can conveniently use both Long and Short strategies. Just remember, the risk is always present.