Learn about trading
Long vs short
Last updated
Trading is fundamentally about one question: do you think the price is going up, or going down?
On Markets, you can profit from either direction. That's the power of perpetuals.
Long
Long = you open a position expecting the price to increase.
If you're right and the price rises, your position gains value. If you're wrong and the price falls, your position loses value.
Example:
NVDA is trading at $800.\You think it'll rise to $900 after earnings.\You go Long at $800.\NVDA hits $900 → you close and profit $100 per unit (before fees).
Short
Short = you open a position expecting the price to decrease.
If the price falls, your position gains value. If the price rises, your position loses value.
Example:
NVDA is at $800.\You think earnings will disappoint and it'll drop to $700.\You go Short at $800.\NVDA drops to $700 → you close and profit $100 per unit (before fees).
The quick cheatsheet
| Long | Short |
|---|---|---|
Your view | Price goes up | Price goes down |
You profit when... | Price rises | Price falls |
You lose when... | Price falls | Price rises |
Available on Robinhood? | ✅ Yes | ❌ Limited |
Available on Markets? | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes — any asset, 24/7 |
Why this matters: A real scenario
Scenario: Tesla earnings are coming up.
- A Bull (optimistic) goes Long — betting Tesla beats expectations and the stock pops.
- A Bear (pessimistic) goes Short — betting Tesla misses and the stock drops.
On Robinhood, only the bull has a trade. The bear has to sit out. On Markets, both can trade. The market is always two-sided.
Leverage changes the maths
Without leverage (1x), your gains and losses match the asset's price movement 1-to-1.
With leverage, they're amplified:
Leverage | Price moves +10% | Price moves -10% |
|---|---|---|
1x (no leverage) | +10% | -10% |
3x | +30% | -30% |
5x | +50% | -50% |
10x | +100% (doubles) | -100% (liquidated) |
⚠️ Liquidation happens when your losses eat through your deposit. At 10x leverage, a 10% move against you wipes your position. Always know your liquidation price before opening a trade.
Your first trade, step by step
- Go to markets.xyz and pick a ticker (e.g. TSLA)
- Choose long (you think it rises) or short (you think it falls)
- Enter your position size (e.g. 100 USD)
- Choose leverage — start at 1x or 2x while learning
- Set a stop loss to protect your position
- Set a take profit if you have a price target
- Click long or short
⚠️ Take profit tip: When setting a Take Profit, you'll choose between market (fills immediately when triggered, price not guaranteed) and limit (fills only at your target price, but may not fill on fast-moving markets). On thin markets, a Take Profit Market can fill significantly away from your target.
On this page