In this case, no price is specified since the broker will fill the order at the best price available. Within the section, Trading Sessions, we recommend that for all orders, you restrict yourself to 'Day Only' as this is most relevant for the trading exercise. If you open a real trading account, all orders operate only over the day session. Institutions and fund managers are typically the only players who incur the extra cost and effort of entering orders for execution in the overnight session.
The area containing STL, SLO, SLC etc. refer to stop-limit orders on the open and close, respectively. Do not use these orders. They are for professional traders executing large lots of over 50 contracts each. Confine yourself to those types of orders visible under the Modifier pull-down menu. There you will find the basic market, stop and limit orders which will for the most part be all that you need. Explanations of the remaining orders can be found at the very bottom of this page.
With option orders, you must specify whether the trade is to open or close a position. This is standard within the industry and even applies to option trades in a real account.
You can now Preview the order which will restate the order for your inspection. Check all specifics and if the order appears acceptable, then click the Submit button. Alternatively, you can Park the order. Parking the order keeps it in memory but does not submit it to the order desk. You can easily submit parked orders from the View Activity page in your trading account.
If you wish to enter several orders simultaneously, you can increase the number of commodity order tickets through the Change Number of Forms button. This way, all orders can be inputted and submitted together. (Spread orders are entered this way.) In most cases, you will be entering one order at a time and there is no need for this feature.
This order, once submitted, will be filled within a minute or so, and you can find confirmation of the fill price shortly thereafter on the View Activity page in your paper trading account under Filled Orders. During periods of high trading volume, your order will still be filled within a minute or so, but the confirmation may be delayed for up to 30 minutes. The details of this completed order will then be posted in your on-line account statement under View Reports when it is updated.
Limit Order
Assume that the June 2001 CME E-Mini S&P 500 call option struck at 1350 is trading at 65.50 and that you wish to buy 2 contracts only if the price dips to 62.50. In this case, you enter a limit order like this: