To be honest, when I first started trading contracts, I was confused: what exactly are those "Long-Short Ratio" and "Long-Short Number Ratio" on the trading panel doing? Why not just tell me directly if the bulls or bears are stronger right now?

Later, I realized there’s a lot of complexity here. Contracts follow a strict rule—the long and short positions must exist in 1:1 pairs. If there are 100 long contracts on the market, there must be 100 short contracts. That’s the game rule.

So how do you judge the real direction? It requires a combination of indicators:

First, look at the 【Long-Short Number Ratio】—this is often an inverse indicator. Retail traders tend to cluster on the wrong side, which is normal.

Next, examine the two 【Large Trader Long-Short Ratios】—attention! Those based on account count are easy to manipulate, while those based on open interest are the true indicators of big capital.

There’s an old saying: "The military fears the military." When everyone rushes to buy at the bottom, it’s easy to get caught. If all three indicators point to bullishness and you go all-in, you’re just asking to be taken out.

The key is to combine with 【Contract Open Interest】: On the K-line chart, O.I. is the number of open contracts, and O.I.NV. is the value of open contracts in USDT terms.

Remember this rule: Price rising + O.I. rising = bulls are adding positions, the trend may continue; Price rising but O.I. falling = some are taking profits, and the market