📑Supported order types

The Tiger.com app lets you make market and limit orders in addition to stop loss and take profit orders, though the latter two options are just for open positions. Let’s take a deep dive into each kind of order.

We support the next list of orders:

  • Market orders

  • Limit orders

  • Stop market orders - only futures

  • Stop loss / Take profit

  • Position - only futures

Market orders

Market orders don’t have a price. They are executed at the best available price (the lowest for a buy and the highest for a sale).

Market orders are for when speed is more important than cost.

Limit orders

Limit orders have a limit for the price they’ll be executed at. In other words, you set a maximum execution price when you’re submitting your order. Brokers have to buy at or below the limit and sell at or above it.

Unlike market orders, you can’t be sure they’re going to go through. That means the tradeoff is between definitely making the trade but at a price you don’t know ahead of time or being certain of the price with no guarantee you’ll make the trade.

Hedging your bets means having a plan in place for getting out of trades. When the numbers aren’t in your favor, stop loss and take profit orders are there for you.

Stop loss and take profit are the main types of deferred orders, and there are two things you should know about them:

  • The position opens or closes automatically rather than manually.

  • Opening or closing the trade happens after a set period of time passes.

That means the trade opens or closes without the trader’s input.

Stop Market

Similarly to a stop-limit order, a stop-market order uses a stop price as a trigger. However, when the stop price is reached, it triggers a market order instead. Due to extreme market movements, the executed price of market order may be lower/higher than the last traded price that user may have seen, user needs to pay attention to the market depth and price fluctuations.

Stop Loss and Take Profit

If you set an SL and TP in the Tiger.com app, then they will close according to the last price. If, however, you created them in another app and specified that they should close according to the mark price, the arrow indicating the PnL may be higher than the SL and TP.

Stop loss

Stop loss (SL) orders are set for open positions to minimize risk.

To take one example, you might buy one Ethereum coin for $1000, and the maximum loss you’re willing to eat on the trade is 10%.

You need to set a stop order for $800. If the chart turns south, an order will be placed automatically to sell 1 ETH at the market price the moment it hits $800. And that will happen whether you’re logged into your exchange account or not. You’ll end up losing a maximum of 10%.

Take profit

Take profit (TP) orders are also set for open positions, though they’re there to lock in profit.

To take one example, you might buy one Ethereum coin for $1000, and you want to walk away with a profit margin of 20%.

You need to set a take profit order for $1400. If the chart starts climbing, you’ll automatically sell your 1 ETH at the market price the moment the quote hits $1400.

That’s especially important in volatile markets where the price might only hit your target for a short time. If you’re not in the exchange and can’t close your position right then, the price could drop back down to cut into or completely eliminate your profit.

Position

Spot trading

If you’re trading on the spot market, your market orders are executed immediately without showing up on the chart or DOM. You can see limit orders on the chart or DOM, though they’re executed the moment the price reaches the limit order target. And that’s why positions don’t really exist on the spot market.

Note: Spot trading refers to transactions made in the moment with stock you already hold. Traders working on spot markets make money buying assets in the hope that the price will subsequently increase.

Setting a position for trading futures

If you’re trading on a futures market, your market order will immediately turn into a position you can see on the chart or DOM. Limit orders show up on the chart or DOM first when you have them set, turning into a position the moment the price reaches the order target. You can set stop loss or take profit orders for your positions.

Note: Futures contracts are agreements between a buyer and a seller looking to buy/sell a stock in the future. The parties agree in advance on when the trade will happen as well as the price.

In addition to stocks you hold, futures trading involves transactions with leverage. You don’t need to first buy futures before you can sell them. Traders can make money by purchasing stock in anticipation of the price rising or selling them in anticipation of the price falling.

The main idea behind profitable sales is buying at a lower price and selling at a higher one. As traders work toward that objective, they have at their disposal trades that play off of price decreases (short positions) and increases (long positions). Both strategies have a meaning in economics that’s probably different from what you’re used to.

Long positions are where stocks are bought with the idea of earning money over the long term, the trader planning to earn off a growing market. They buy the stocks, wait until the price increases, and sell to pocket the difference.

Short positions are designed to earn off a contracting market. The trader borrows stock from a broker and sells it at a certain price. After the price falls, the trader buys the stock and returns it to the broker.

“Long” and “short” have nothing to do with the trade durations. For example, a short position might last days or even a week, while a long position could be closed within half an hour or an hour. The terms have to do with the idea that market growth tends to be a protracted—long—process.

Traders holding a long position are called bulls in exchange slang, while short traders are bears.

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