Order Types

Order types are the standardized instructions that define how, at what price, and under what conditions a trade should execute. Choosing the right one is the difference between controlling price, controlling certainty of execution, or automating a reaction to future price.

The three building blocks are: a market order (fill immediately at the best available price, no price guarantee), a limit order (fill only at your price or better, no fill guarantee), and a stop order (a dormant order that becomes active once a trigger price trades). Everything else is a combination or a condition layered on top — stop-limit, trailing stop, bracket, and OCO orders, plus time-in-force tags (day, GTC, IOC, FOK) that govern how long the order lives.

The core trade-off never goes away: market orders buy certainty of execution but pay the spread and risk slippage; limit orders control price but may never fill. Match the order type to the goal — speed, price control, or risk automation — not to habit.