I’d rather buy put than short. Just limit your total % of puts to an amount that you think you can afford to lose. In another word, not too much. My experience with puts is that sometimes you lose 100% (just like Powayseller said), and sometimes you make more than 100%. If you have more hits than misses, then you are OK. So the discipline is to limit your total exposure if you use puts. Also, think in terms of portfolios, not a single stock (or option). It’s a hedge.
The problem with shorting (I’ve never shorted) is that you have to continuously put up margin if the stock goes up, and you may get squeezed out before you are proven right. The problem with buying puts is that your initial price incorporates time value, and that time value keeps going down.
Either way, shorting or buying puts are not easy. If you experiment, play with a small sum of money. If you’re initially successful, then don’t get too carried away.
