The basis of the trader's activity is receiving profit from operations on buying or selling financial assets. Confidence in the chosen direction of the trade and skills to effectively use the potential of all instruments of the trading terminal are integral components of a professional approach to the activity.

Trading orders can be considered the most important and necessary link in the trading system. Understanding the principles of their formation and execution allows building a flexible and effective strategy, which is a significant advantage in a highly dynamic market.
An order is a trade command to buy or sell a certain financial asset that a trader forms for a broker. All necessary parameters and conditions are set up directly in the terminal menu and then transmitted for execution. Besides, it is possible to modify or completely cancel some types of orders that have already been sent to the broker.

A trade is a fact of buying or selling a financial instrument, which is the result of order execution. An open trade, unlike an order, cannot be canceled or modified. All you can do with it is to close it (fully or partially), as well as to set limits on loss or profit.

Knowing how to work with different types of orders will help you to make your trading more flexible and free. For example, when using certain orders, you can forget about the need to spend long hours watching the terminal and waiting for the right moment to open a position. This will save not only time but also psychological balance, violation of which is often the main source of wrong decisions.
Many beginners do not use the huge potential of the trading terminal in everyday activities. Most often, work with orders is limited to a simple buy or sell, which significantly reduces the potential of the trader. Excessive conservatism is most often due to insecure possession of additional opportunities. This generates a fear of making a mistake and getting a loss, which is why clear and not always the most effective tools take their place in the basic set.
The most popular and widespread MetaTrader trading terminals offer 8 order types, two of which appeared in the last generation of the platform. According to the fundamental principles of operation, all orders are divided into two groups:

1. Market order. An order to immediately buy or sell a certain financial asset at the most favorable current market price. The simplicity of this type has led to the fact that many traders often use it as the only way to open a position.

2. Pending order. An order to sell or buy a financial asset if the specified parameters are met. The main difference from the market type is that once the order is sent, it does not open immediately. The order is processed and waits for the matching of necessary parameters. The waiting time can be very long, but once all conditions have coincided, the system automatically opens a trade.

There are only two types of market orders: market buy and market sell. In both cases, the mechanism is extremely simple and transparent: a trade is opened instantly after you press the corresponding button in the terminal window.

The other six types belong to the group of pending orders and have more complex working principles. Using their features allows making trading more flexible and less time-consuming. Many professionals only open positions using pending orders and thus spend only a few minutes a day analyzing the market and identifying entry points. This is an excellent example of how you can effectively use all available opportunities: