MORE SHARK

Revshark on realmoney is offering up his thoughts on trading from the short side and I happen to agree with him. My experience is, especially lately, that short trades are quick. They can go against you fast and you do not want to be run over. Here is the rev's take:

"One of the other problems that I have with short-selling is emotional. I find it much harder to have strong convictions on the short side when a stock is moving against me, as opposed to staying confident in a long-side trade that is being uncooperative. Shorts simply feel more vulnerable than longs to me, and thus I don't trade them as well. One of the other issues on shorts that I have found difficult is that the timing isn't simply the inverse of what you find with a good long. Good shorts tend to fall fast and suddenly, while good longs tend to play out more gradually over a long time period. Hence a more anticipatory style works better for shorts than for longs. I have no qualms about admitting that I'm not a big short-side player. I simply have not found that focusing primarily on longs is a handicap. Even in the dreary market environment following the bursting of the bubble, I still made decent money on the long side. I disagree strongly with the opinion some hold that to be a great trader you need to be able to trade effectively both short and long. I know traders who do just fine with a focus solely on the short side, and I know traders, including me, who do fine with a focus primarily on the long side. "

I find that if I buy the pullbacks when the indicators set up I really do not need to short. Besides, I see short side traders constantly get run over by the likes of DHR GS SPY etc and it is no fun.
I remember one guy who was constantly shorting TOL and when it finally cratered he was no where to be found.