Sometimes, when you start out as a day trader, it can seem like everyone is speaking a foreign language. The new terms, the acronyms, financial words and Excel documents all jumble together like a child’s puzzle, swirling around your head and making you confused. It takes time to learn how to be an effective trader and it takes time to begin to learn what all these terms mean.
A limit order is one such term. Basically, a limit order is an order to buy or sell a set amount of a financial instrument, like a stock or security or commodity, at a specific price. You can place a trade that will not go through unless your ideal price, or a better price, is met. It can be a buy or a sell order. You can also place a time constraint on a limit order so that you can make sure it is cancelled, if needed.
Starting out with investing requires a real dedication to do what is needed to get educated. The profitable investors take knowledge and turn it into winning trades. In order to be profitable, you need to know more than the rest of the market and you need to know how to act on that knowledge.
Day trading is the fastest of all the ways to trade on the market. You need to know what you are doing and you need to be confident when you are doing it. There is no halfway in with day trading. You need to have a plan and you need to execute it to the best of your ability. That is the only way to stay ahead of the other traders. So when you place limit orders, you have to be able to name your price and stick to it.
The advantage of the limit order is that you can be assured that the market exit or entry is at the specified price. When you do your research and make your plans, you can determine what price you need to get to in order to make money. There is still some risk involved, but you can control your risk based on the price that you set.
Risk management is an important part of being a day trader. Risk is inherent in any foray into the market. But you need to know exactly the kind of risk that you are taking and you need to make sure you understand it. That is why having a stop-loss is so important. A limit order can allow you to create the exact conditions you need in order to make a profit.
The place to practice all this day trading and limit orders is in a paper trading simulator. That is where you can make a real dent in your education. You can practice trading at the speed of the market in order to get better. Without risking real money. Because what you are risking is not actual cash, but virtual currency that is traded in a simulated brokerage account. Making mistakes is one of the most effective ways of learning. When you make a mistake you can see where you went wrong and you can do it better the next time. But with day trading, if you make a mistake out on the real market, you can only lose real money. That is why you need to put the time in as a paper trader.