We’ve all heard that age-old adage “buy low, sell high.” But what if I told you you could also make money selling high and buying low?

Like democrats and republicans before them, traders are said to belong in one of two camps: Bulls, “long”-minded traders who buy stock in anticipation that the value will go up, and bears, traders who sell shares “short” in the expectation that the value will go down. Shorts make their money by borrowing shares from their broker, selling them at the start of the trade and buying them back at a lower premium (also known as “covering”), then pocketing the difference.

If you spend much time perusing Stocktwits, you know how ugly the gang war between longs and shorts can get. Personally, I can’t stand Stocktwits — too many keyboard warriors tossing insults at one another. Whereas most traders find success sticking to one side of the aisle, I’m inclined to play whichever direction is going to line my pockets the quickest.

Going long does not require anything more than the ability to hit the buy button. Shorting, on the other hand, requires the use of a broker that offers you margin. Some stocks, particularly blue chips, are almost always considered “easy to borrow,” which means the float is high enough that your broker does not charge you to borrow the shares to short. Smaller companies may require you pay a small per-share “locate fee.” Keep in mind not all stocks are available to short-sell — certain securities may be placed on a “threshold” list that prohibits short-biased traders from selling more shares than the company has available.

While shorting a stock that has topped out after making a big move may sound like a no-brainer, it is absolutely imperative to be mindful of the fact that going short can also lead to blowing your entire account up well into the negative. Let’s say you short 1,000 shares of Company X at $10/share with a $25,000 account and the stock spikes to $30/share. In that instance, you would lose all $25,000 AND be liable for another $5,000 to your broker. Now imagine if the stock spiked to $40 or $50.

See why it’s important to set your stops?