Conditional Orders
Contents
Some brokerages may allow conditional orders. If you are using an account that allows conditional orders, the trade ticket will allow you to enter them.
NOTE: Not every type of conditional order is available for every broker. If a particular conditional order type is not available for your broker, it will not show up on the list in the trade ticket. |
The way the conditional orders work is that there is the main order - the one you enter on the main area of the trade ticket, and then the conditional parts below the main order.
Example 1: OCA (One Cancels Another) |
This type of conditional order is the same as a Bracket order.
The order shown here is to SELL BAC 100 LIMIT at 23.50 and SELL STOP MARKET 2.50 below that (at 21.00). Note: BOTH orders are live, and if one of them executes, the other one is canceled.
The Action on the conditional leg is Same meaning it is the same direction as the main order, or SELL in this case.
Example 2: OTA (One Triggers Another) |
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The order shown here is to BUY 100 BAC LIMIT at 21.50, SELL STOP MARKET 5 % below (20.43). Note: Only the main order is live. If it executes, then the second - conditional - part of the order is placed.
The Action on the conditional leg is Reverse meaning it is the opposite direction from the main order, so the conditional action is SELL in this case.
Example 3: OTOCA (One Triggers Other Cancels Another) |
The order shown here is to BUY 100 LIMIT at 21.50. If that order executes, then an OCA order is placed, with two legs - one of SELL LIMIT 2 points above the first order's price (at 23.50) and SELL STOP MARKET 1.50 below the first order's price (at 20.00)
The Action on the both conditional legs is Reverse meaning it is the opposite direction from the main order, so the conditional actions are SELL in this case - reverse of BUY on the main order.
Example 4: OTOTA (One Triggers Other Triggers Another) |
The order shown here is to BUY 100 BAC LIMIT at 21.50. If that order executes, then a SELL LIMIT order is placed to for 100 BAC 2 points above 21.50 - that is, at 23.50. If that order, in turn, executes, then another order is placed - to BUY 100 BAC LIMIT 22 (0.5 above the original order price).
As you can see the Action (SAME or REVERSE) is always relative to the main order. If you select BUY on top, SAME will mean BUY, REVERSE will mean SELL. If you change it to SELL ... well, you get the idea.
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Since the prices on the conditional legs are relative, if you change the limit price on the main order, the conditional leg prices will adjust accordingly and you can see that in the price shown above the price field. Also, if you have MT set to confirm the orders, then when you get the confirmation, it will show the actual orders that are being placed. For example:
