Take-profit orders

Don’t you just love that name? An old market saying goes, “You can’t go broke taking profit.” Use take-profit orders to lock in gains when you have an open position in the market. If you’re short USD/JPY at 117.20, your take-profit order will be to buy back the position and be placed somewhere below that price, say at 116.80 for instance. If you’re long GBP/USD at 1.8840, your take-profit order will be to sell the position somewhere higher, maybe 1.8875.

Limit orders

A limit order is any order that triggers a trade at more favorable levels than the current market price. Think “Buy low, sell high.” If the limit order is to buy, it must be entered at a price below the current market price. If the limit order is to sell, it must be placed at a price higher than the current market price.

Stop-loss orders

Boo! Sound’s bad doesn’t it? Actually, stop-loss orders are critical to trading survival. The traditional stop-loss order does just that: It stops losses by closing out an open position that is losing money.

Use stop-loss orders to limit your losses if the market moves against your position. If you don’t, you’re leaving it up to the market, and that’s dangerous. Stop-loss orders are on the other side of the current price from take-profit orders, but in the same direction (in terms of buying or selling). If you’re long, your stop-loss order will be to sell, but at a lower price than the current market price.