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Order Types

There are 5 basic order types to choose from in VT Trader 2.0. This page will go in details to explain all the order types and their functions. There are videos, screenshots, and tables to help you familiarize yourself with these order types as they are part of your trading tools.

When you right-click the chart, the drop-down menu appears, and shows some order options. The first options buy and sell are direct 1) MARKET ORDERS. Under that are the available basic 2) ENTRY ORDERS. This example shows the menu when right-clicked above the price, so you have EntryStop Buy and EntryLimit Sell. Under the current price, you would have EntryLimit Buy and EntryStop Sell. Below these options are the Conditional Buy and Conditional Sell. These breakdown to the 3 remaining order types 3)OCO (One-Cancels-Other, 4)IF/THEN, and 5)IF/THE OCO. Once you select an option from here, you open up the “REQUEST ORDERS” window, from which you can further specify your order, and even completely choose a different order if you wish.

 

Here you can 1) select the instrument, or currency pair; 2) select the order type; 3) specify trader’s market range; 4) specify lot size. 5) opt to have a confirmation window or without.

For video guides on trading and the different order types, check out the videos below link:
1) FIFO - Simple Market Orders, Closing, and Offsetting Multiple Positions
2) FIFO - OCO Orders, Stops and Limits, Straddle Orders
3) FIFO - Entry, If/Then, If/Then OCO Orders

 

The explanations of all the different order types are below.

1. Market Orders: (buy or sell)

A market order is an order to buy or sell a specific currency, which is to be filled immediately at the currently quoted exchange rate. Under normal market conditions, market orders are executed in less than one second. Fig.OT-2 Shows the “Request Orders” window when selecting a basic market order to buy.

2. Entry Orders: (pending orders, stop or limit)

While market orders are to be executed immediately after being placed, entry orders are executed only if the market reaches a specified price level. Below is a table of the basic 4 entry order types and a screenshot on how you can select them on VT Trader 2.0:

Enter Above Current Price	Long (To buy): EntryStop Buy Short (To sell): EntryLimit Sell	Process the order when the market rallies to the specified price.
Enter Below Current Price	Long: EntryLimit Buy Short: EntryStop Sell	Process the order when the market declines to the specified price.
Stop	For a Long: EntryStop Sell For a Short: EntryStop Buy	Offset your position when the market goes against you to a specified price.
Limit	For a Long: EntryLimit Sell For a Short: EntryLimit Buy	Offset your position when the market goes has gone in your favor to a specified price.

3. OCO Orders: (Stop and Limit, Range, Straddle)

OCO stands for One-Cancels-Other. It is an order type that simply attaches two entry orders such that when the first is removed or executed, the second will be removed as well. They can be used as stop and limit orders for existing orders. Note that this OCO order is independent of the an existing position, so closing the position will NOT close OCO orders you created as its stop and limit.

Also, OCO orders can be placed without an existing order either as a range trading approach or a breakout trading approach “straddle”.

Below is a table of the different OCO Order combinations and screenshots on how to place them within VT Trader 2.0.

For a Long Position	Stop: EntryStop Sell Limit: EntryLimit Sell	For a Long Position Offset your long position when the market either hits your stop or your limit AND cancel the other part of the order. Several critics, historians and modernists have declared it "the most beautiful building of the century"
For a Short Position	Stop: EntryStop Buy Limit: EntryLimit Buy	For a Short Position Offset your short position when the market either hits your stop or your limit AND cancel the other part of the order.
Range	@ Resistance: EntryLimit Sell @ Support: EntryLimit Buy	Range Long if market reaches a resistance, then cancel the other order OR Short if market reaches a support, then cancel the other order.
Breakout “Straddle”	Above Resistance: EntryStop Buy Below Support: EntryStop Sell	Breakout “Straddle” Long if market breaks above a resistance, then cancel the other order OR Short if the market breaks below a support, then cancel the other order.

4. IF/THEN

(IF one entry order is EXECUTED, THEN another one is PLACED; Entry Order with stop or limit)

As the name implies, IF/THEN orders consist of two entry orders. If and only if the first entry order is executed, will the second entry order by placed. At this time, you will have a position in the market and a separate entry order that was placed. Below is a table of Combinations of IF/THEN orders and how they are used, along with screenshot instructions.

Enter Above Current Price	Long with Stop    IF: EntryStop Buy          THEN: EntryStop Sell	Long with Stop Set up an entry order above the current price and establishing EITHER a Stop or a Limit.
	Long with Limit    IF: EntryStop Buy          THEN: EntryLimit Sell	Long with Limit Set up an entry order above the current price and establishing EITHER a Stop or a Limit.
	Short with Stop  IF: EntryLimit Sell           THEN: EntryStop Buy	Short with Stop Set up an entry order above the current price and establishing EITHER a Stop or a Limit.
	Short with Limit    IF: EntryLimit Sell           THEN: EntryLimit Buy	Short with Limit Set up an entry order above the current price and establishing EITHER a Stop or a Limit.
Enter Below Current Price	Long with Stop    IF: EntryLimit Buy          THEN: EntryStop Sell	Long with Stop Set up an entry order below the current price and establishing EITHER a Stop or a Limit.
	Long with Limit    IF: EntryLimit Buy          THEN: EntryLimit Sell	Long with Limit Set up an entry order below the current price and establishing EITHER a Stop or a Limit.
	Short with Stop    IF: EntryStop Sell           THEN: EntryStop Buy	Short with Stop Set up an entry order below the current price and establishing EITHER a Stop or a Limit.
	Short with Limit    IF: EntryStop Sell           THEN: EntryLimit Buy	Short with Limit Set up an entry order below the current price and establishing EITHER a Stop or a Limit.

 

5. IF/THEN OCO

(Entry Order with Stop and Limits)

This order is very similar to the IF/THEN order, except the “THEN” part of the order consists of an OCO order. This order is meant for creating an entry order, in which if it is executed, a stop and limit would be placed. Below is a table that lists the different IF/THEN OCO orders and how they can be set up in VT Trader 2.0

Enter Above Current Price	Long with Stop and Limit IF: EntryStop Buy THEN OCO: EntryStop Sell (Stop) EntryLimit Sell (Limit)	Long with Stop and Limit Set up an entry order above the current price and establishing EITHER a Stop or a Limit.
	Short with Stop and Limit IF: EntryLimit Sell THEN OCO: EntryStop Buy (Stop) EntryLimit Buy (Limit)	Short with Stop and Limit Set up an entry order above the current price and establishing EITHER a Stop or a Limit.
Enter Below Current Price	Long with Stop and Limit EntryLimit Buy THEN OCO: EntryStop Sell (Stop) EntryLimit Sell (Limit)	Long with Stop and Limit Set up an entry order below the current price and establishing EITHER a Stop or a Limit.
	Short with Stop and Limit EntryStop Sell THEN OCO: EntryStop Buy (Stop) EntryLimit Buy (Limit)	Short with Stop and Limit Set up an entry order below the current price and establishing EITHER a Stop or a Limit.

Tip: Because of a spread, your price on a long position would be different from a short position in the same point in time. Make sure you are on the correct bid/ask chart. When you have an order to open a long position make sure you are on the “---“ chart, and when you place an entry order to open a short position, make sure you are on the “---“ chart.

 

Order Expiry:

GTC = Good ‘Til Cancelled
Day = Cancelled if not triggered by end of session
(5:00PM ET on M-Th, 4:00PM ET on F)

Fast-Moving Markets:

It is important to note that during extremely volatile market conditions, it is possible for a trader to get requoted. This means that when prices are moving rapidly, the price requested may have already changed by the time the order is received by the dealing desk. If this occurs, our dealing desk will immediately provide you with a new price. The trader can then choose to execute the order at this requoted price. Under no circumstances will a market order be filled at a price which the client has not approved.

At CMS Forex we understand that it can be frustrating to get requoted during a fast moving market. In order to minimize the chance of missing an important opportunity to enter or exit a position, we provide a feature called Market Range. Market Range is a feature on the order screen of VT Trader that allows you to specify the maximum number of pips of deviation from the quoted price (in either direction) that you are willing to accept.



For example, if you place a market order to buy GBP/USD when the quoted price is 1.5986, and you specify a Trader’s Range of 5, that means that you are willing to accept a price anywhere between 1.5991 and 1.5981. If no Trader’s Range is specified, it is by default set to 0, meaning you are only willing to accept the quoted price 1.5986. If the Trader’s Range is set to 0 and the market moved to 1.5990, then it is possible for you to get requoted for that price. If the 5 pip range was in place, it would not requote you for confirmation, but execute at that price since. If the available price is outside of the range, you will be requoted.

 

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only.