Jock MKT Guide to Shorting
*Note to enable shorting you will need to go to User Account > Gameplay
What is shorting?
It’s like buying shares, but the opposite.
When you buy a stock, you think it’ll go up. When you short a stock, you think it’ll go down. Instead of offering to buy shares, you’re offering to sell shares.
Here’s how it works:
- You believe a share’s price will go down.
- You offer to sell shares you don’t currently own by placing a Short sell order at your price.
- If someone places a Buy order to match your Sell price, then the trade is executed.
Then what?
- If the price goes down, you profit! If it goes up, you don’t.
- You can offer to buy those shares during live, or hold until the final payout.
- Your “hold” is the short’s maximum exposure, which is the top payout ($25) minus the price of the share.
How about an example?
Jordan Spieth is currently T-5 in this week’s PGA event. You think he is overachieving and his price will come down from $14.
Seeing the current bid price of $14, you place a Short order for 3 shares at $14. Your cost is:
3 Shares * ($25 max payout – $14 price) = $33.
At the end of the tournament, it turns out your intuition was correct. Spieth fell to 28th place and paid out $6 per share.
Your profit is:
3 shares * ($14 avg cost – $6 final price) = $24. Woo!
Can I short during IPO?
YES! Yes you can.
Mixed Positions
In IPO shorting, we don’t allow mixed positions. This means that you can’t both short and long the same stock. Since we don’t allow order editing either, be careful when placing an IPO short because you can’t get out of the position until live trading starts.
Dynamic Hold
In live trading, the “hold” (the amount used in your balance to cover your short) is based on your trade price. For example, if you short sold Spieth at $14 like the example above, your hold would be $11 per share. This would be because the most you could lose per share would be if Spieth won the tournament and paid out $25 per share ($14-$25 = -$11). In IPO shorting, your hold changes based on the latest price. If you short sold Spieth in IPO at $10 a share, the hold on your account would be $15 per share to cover your max loss ($10-$25 = -15). However, if the market bids Spieth’s price up to $15 your hold would reduce to $10 a share because your max loss would decrease ($15-25=-$10).
FAQ
What is my maximum exposure?
If the share’s price increases, then your shares decrease in value. The worst case scenario is the player whose shares you have shorted finishes in first and pays out $25. We hold that “max hold” as your cost basis for the trade, which is $25 minus the trade price.
Can I use margin?
Nope. All trades must be covered by available balance in your account, whether they are short or long.
How can I close out of my position?
To close out of your short position, you can place a bid to buy shares (at or above the current Ask price to execute immediately), or hold until the end of the event. If you hold until the end of the event, then your payout is $25 minus the final share price.
Any other questions? Reach out to support at jockmkt dot com!