Trader Toolkit · Visualiser

Order Anatomy

Market, limit and stop orders, and what each one actually does.

Entry, stop and target, three:an order's whole anatomy.

Order type

Drag the solid handle to move the price and the outlined handle to move the order. With a keyboard: Tab to a handle, then the arrow keys (Page Up and Page Down for larger steps).

Buy limit order

Where it rests: Below the current price.
When it triggers: When the price falls to your level.
What it fills at: At your level or lower: your price or better, never worse. If the price never comes down to it, the order is never filled.

Resting

Resting at 94.0, 6.0 below the price of 100.0. Nothing happens until the price falls to 94.0.

SimulationA diagram driven by your own hand on an abstract scale: no market data. Educational information, not investment advice or a recommendation to trade.

This tool shows where an order rests and when it triggers. For what happens to one order before and after that, from the ticket to the balance, see Trade Anatomy in Labs.

Simulation

When the price gaps past a stop

A stop is an instruction to trade at the next available price once its level is reached. If the market closes at one price and reopens at another, there are no prices in between to trade at. The path below is invented to show the mechanism.

Size of the gap

How far the price jumps while no trading takes place.

Last price before the gap: 95.0
First price after it: 91.0
Sell stop at 94.0 is filled at: 91.0
Slippage (level − fill): 94.0 − 91.0 = 3.0 worse
A buy limit at 94.0 in the same gap is filled at: 91.0, which is 3.0 better

An invented path on an abstract scale, labelled as a simulation: it is not a record of any market and not a statement of how often or how far prices gap. The asymmetry is the point. A limit order is filled at its level or better; a stop order can be filled worse than its level.

How it works

Formula

A limit order fills at your price or better. A stop order becomes a market order when triggered.

With your numbers

1OrderBuy limit at 94.0
2Price (abstract scale)100.0
3Distance from the price to the order|100.0 − 94.0| = 6.0
4Trigger conditionprice ≤ 94.0: not met
5StateResting

Assumptions

The scale is abstract: 100 is only where the price starts. It is not a quote for any instrument, and no spread is drawn, so “the price” stands for the bid or the ask as appropriate.
Dragging moves the price smoothly through every level. Real prices can jump, which is the subject of the gap simulation.
Stop loss and take profit are shown for a position that was bought. For a position that was sold they sit on the opposite sides.
Whether, when and at what price an order is filled depends on the market at that moment. No order type removes that uncertainty.

Terms used

In plain language

An order is an instruction with a condition attached.

A market order has no condition: trade now, at the price available. A limit order adds a price condition in your favour: trade only at this price or better. A stop order adds a trigger: once the price reaches this level, send a market order.

The difference between the last two is the one that matters. A limit controls the price and gives up certainty of being filled. A stop does the reverse: once triggered it is sent to be filled at whatever the next price happens to be. Stop loss and take profit are the same two instructions attached to a position that is already open: a stop loss is a stop order, a take profit is a limit order.

This is why a stop loss limits a loss in ordinary conditions but cannot fix it in advance. If the market jumps over the level, the order is filled on the far side of the jump.

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How it works

Formula

A limit order fills at your price or better. A stop order becomes a market order when triggered.

With your numbers

1OrderBuy limit at 94.0

2Price (abstract scale)100.0

3Distance from the price to the order|100.0 − 94.0| = 6.0

4Trigger conditionprice ≤ 94.0: not met

5StateResting

Assumptions

The scale is abstract: 100 is only where the price starts. It is not a quote for any instrument, and no spread is drawn, so “the price” stands for the bid or the ask as appropriate.

Dragging moves the price smoothly through every level. Real prices can jump, which is the subject of the gap simulation.

Stop loss and take profit are shown for a position that was bought. For a position that was sold they sit on the opposite sides.

Whether, when and at what price an order is filled depends on the market at that moment. No order type removes that uncertainty.

Terms used