Long and short
Go long if you think the price will rise, short if you think it will fall. Every move pays one side.
4 minLesson 2 of 62 questions at the end
Key ideas
- 1Long gains when the price goes up and loses when it goes down.
- 2Short gains when the price goes down and loses when it goes up.
- 3Your gain or loss is the position size times the percentage move, whichever way you went.
- 4You can close at any time, and closing a long early or late uses the same button.
Two directions
Long
- You think the price will rise
- Gains as it rises
- Loses as it falls
Short
- You think the price will fall
- Gains as it falls
- Loses as it rises
Formula
PnL = position size × price move (%)
Before fees. A short flips the sign.
See both at once
Long against short
Every move pays one side and costs the other. Drag the slider to move BTC.
BTC at an example price$1,000 long and $1,000 short
BTC moves+3.00% → 103,000
- Long $1,000
- +$30.00
- Short $1,000
- −$30.00
In numbers
- BTC moves
- 100,000 → 96,000 (−4%)
- $1,000 long
- −$40.00
- $1,000 short
- +$40.00
What one side loses, the other side gains, before fees.
Why shorts feel different
A long can lose at most what backs it, since a price can’t fall below zero. A short has no ceiling on how far the price can rise against it. On perps, liquidation stops either one, by closing it and taking the margin.
Common mistakes
- Shorting because a price “can’t go higher”. Prices can keep rising far longer than feels reasonable, and a short’s loss grows with every step up.
- Mixing up the buttons in a hurry. Lance shows long in green and short in red, and the confirm card spells out the side.
- Adding to a losing position to “average down” without a plan. It makes the next move against you bigger.
Check yourself
Question 1 of 2
You short $1,000 of ETH and ETH falls 5%. Before fees, you are:
Keys 1 to 3 pick an answer, Enter checks it
Try it in Lance
The order panel shows what the same size would gain or lose either way before anything is sent.
Try the long and short buttons