Orders & Execution — Market, Limit, Stop, OCO (Post‑Only, Reduce‑Only)
A clear playbook for placing and managing orders on exchanges. Learn order types, safe toggles, buffers for breakouts/pullbacks, and how to set partial take‑profits and trailing equivalents via OCO/conditional orders.
4.1Order types primer (interactive quick reference)
Market
Instant fill at current ask/bid; subject to slippage
Immediate execution needed; accept current price
Slippage in thin markets; taker fees apply
Buy BTCUSDT at market (fills at best available ask)
Exact names/behaviors vary across exchanges — always test on small size or testnet.
4.2Buffers for breakouts/pullbacks (calculator)
Avoid false triggers and wicks by adding a sensible buffer
Recommended: 0.5–2.0% of ATR
4.3Post‑Only & Reduce‑Only safety (toggles)
Ensures limit order adds liquidity (maker); if it would execute immediately, the exchange rejects or amends; helpful to avoid accidental marketable orders
Example:
Take‑profit limit: Post‑Only ON to avoid taker fees if price jumps; prevents order from crossing spread
Order can only reduce an existing position size; prevents accidental size increases when managing exits
Example:
Take‑profit limit: Reduce‑Only ON so it never adds size, only closes existing position
4.4Map level to order: breakout/pullback sandbox
Order Summary
4.5OCO/Conditional orders: partials & trailing equivalents
Many exchanges support linked OCO: one leg TP (limit), the other SL (stop or stop‑limit). Partials: place multiple OCOs for portions of size (e.g., 50% at +1R, 50% at +2R) — each OCO Reduce‑Only. Trailing equivalents: approximate with staged TPs + a trailing stop (if exchange supports) or using tighter OCOs as price advances.
Take Profit 1
Limit OrderCalculated TP1: $30450.00
Take Profit 2
Limit OrderCalculated TP2: $30750.00
Stop Loss
Stop OrderCalculated SL: $29790.00
OCO Configuration
OCO #1: TP $30450.00 (50% size) / SL $29790.00 [Reduce-Only: ON]
OCO #2: TP $30750.00 (50% size) / SL $29790.00 [Reduce-Only: ON]
4.6Slippage/price impact guard (sanity check)
Avoid excessive taker slippage on market/stop‑market
Based on experience, orderbook depth, typical: 0.05–0.15%
Default recommendation: 0.20%
4.7Practice: turn a BTCUSDT level into orders + OCO
Pick a BTCUSDT daily forecast level (breakout or pullback)
Compute buffer with BufferCalculator; choose order type in LevelToOrderMapper
Set SL/TP and build an OCO with partials (e.g., 50% at +1.5%, 50% at +2.5%); Reduce‑Only ON
Decide Post‑Only usage for limit TPs (to avoid taker fees if possible)
Run SlippageGuard for a Stop‑Market; if 'Risky,' switch to Stop‑Limit with offset
4.8Lesson 4 Quiz
Mini-Quiz
Test your understanding with 3 questions. Pass with 2/3 correct.