Long / Short (ซื้อ / ขาย)
Long is a buy position that profits if the price rises. Short is a sell position that profits if the price falls.
Long and Short describe which direction you have chosen in a trade.
Long (buy position)
When you go long, you buy first, hoping to sell later at a higher price. You make money if the price goes up and lose money if it goes down.
Short (sell position)
When you go short, you sell first, hoping to buy back later at a lower price. You make money if the price goes down and lose money if it goes up. In forex and gold trading you can open a short position without owning the asset. In the stock market, short selling usually means borrowing shares, and it has extra rules and costs.
Example
Say EURUSD is at 1.1000 and you trade 0.01 lot (1,000 units). In this case, 1 pip is worth about $0.10.
- Long at 1.1000: the price rises to 1.1050, which is +50 pips, or about +$5. If it falls to 1.0950, that is −50 pips, or about −$5.
- Short at 1.1000: the price falls to 1.0950, which is +50 pips, or about +$5. If it rises to 1.1050, that is −50 pips, or about −$5.
Why it matters
A common beginner mistake is to think you can only make money when prices rise. Short positions let you trade a falling market too. But both directions carry risk, and a wrong guess causes a loss either way. Always check whether your order is Buy or Sell before you confirm it, and consider using a Stop Loss to limit the loss on either kind of position.