A Step-by-Step Guide to Placing Trades with Tradestation

To place trades with Tradestation, you'll first need to access the platform's trading interface, which can be done by clicking on the "Trade" button in the top navigation menu.

From there, you can select the type of trade you want to place, such as a market order or a limit order.

Before entering a trade, it's essential to review the current market conditions, including the bid and ask prices, to ensure you're making an informed decision.

Tradestation's platform provides real-time market data, allowing you to stay up-to-date on the latest market developments.

To place a trade with TradeStation, you can click and hold on a point in your chart, and a data tip will appear with your order entry settings, quantity, and duration below the trade buttons.

You can change these values by clicking on them, which will open the Order Entry Settings dialog. The account number on the data tip automatically follows the symbol's asset class.

To place a trade, click Buy or Sell to open the Confirm Order dialog, where you can review the details of the transaction and choose to send or cancel the order.

You can also use the Trade Bar to place a trade by clicking on the desired trading tab, entering the basic order parameters, and selecting the order type.

To place a staged order, click Stage and select the desired stage order type, then click Yes to send the order or No to cancel it in the Confirm dialog.

The Trade Bar default is Standard Order, but you can prepare an OCO (Order Cancels Order), OSO (Order Sends Order), or Bracket order by clicking the OCO/OSO pull-down and choosing an order type.

Here are the basic order parameters you can enter in the Order Info section:

Order Options can be customized to fit your trading needs. The Trade Bar default is Standard Order, but you can also prepare OCO (Order Cancels Order), OSO (Order Sends Order) or Bracket orders by clicking the OCO/OSO pull-down and choosing an order type.

You can choose from various order types, including Limit, Market, Stop Limit, Stop Market, Trailing Stop, and Trailing Stop %. Each order type has its own specific characteristics, so make sure to understand the differences before placing a trade.

To place a trade, you'll need to fill out the Order Info fields, which include Quantity, Order Type, Price fields, Routing, Duration, GTD (Good 'Till Date), and Account number. You can also use the buttons to transfer prices to the Price fields or populate the limit price and stop price fields.

Here are the Order Info fields in detail:

To place a standard order, you can click the Buy or Sell button in the Order Info panel after filling in the necessary details. This panel has several fields, including Quantity, Order Type, and Price fields.

You can enter a specific quantity in the Quantity field, or use the default number specified for the asset class in Order Entry Settings. The Order Type field allows you to choose from Limit, Market, Stop Limit, Stop Market, Trailing Stop, or Trailing Stop %.

To set the price, you can click the Bid, Last, or Ask button to transfer the current price to the Price fields. You can then adjust the price by entering a number or using the up and down arrows.

In addition to these fields, you can also specify the Routing, Duration, and GTD (Good 'Till Date) for your order. The Routing field lets you choose how your order will be routed to a market participant, while the Duration field determines how long your order will remain valid in the market.

Here's a summary of the Order Info panel fields:

After filling in the necessary details, you can click the Buy or Sell button to place the trade.

OCO/OSO Orders are a powerful feature in the Trade Bar, allowing you to create advanced orders that can be tailored to your specific trading needs.

To access OCO/OSO orders, click the OCO/OSO pull-down in the Trade Bar and choose an order type. You can select from Order Cancels Order (OCO), Order Sends Order (OSO), or Bracket orders.

OCO/OSO orders can be staged and reused easily from the Orders tab in TradeManager. This feature allows you to save an order as a template and use it later to create other orders.

To place and stage OCO/OSO orders, follow these steps:

Staged orders can be placed at a later time by clicking the Stage menu drop-down list and selecting the desired order. You can also send the order immediately by selecting Send Orders.

It's worth noting that staged orders for a specific duration may only be created during the duration period. For example, an after market Staged Order (Day+) must be created and saved during the after market session.

The Option Chain is a powerful tool that lets you view options for a specific stock. Clicking the Option Chain link icon opens the Option Chain app directly from the Trade Bar.

If you enter a symbol in the Trade Bar and then click the Option Chain link, the Option Chain app opens with your symbol already loaded. This saves you time and effort.

You can access the Option Chain from the Trade Bar, making it easily accessible for quick reference.

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To place a trade directly from a chart, you'll need to click and hold on a point in your chart, which will display a data tip with your order entry settings, quantity, and duration below the trade buttons.

This data tip will automatically follow the symbol's asset class, and you can change any of these values by clicking on them. The Order Entry Settings dialog will then open.

The order action buttons are where you'll send your trade, and clicking Send will send the order to the Orders app, with a loading message appearing in the chart every 30 seconds.

The Trade Bar is a crucial part of the trading process, and understanding how to use it can save you time and effort. By default, it closes after a successful trade, but you can pin it to keep it open for future reference.

You can pin the Trade Bar by clicking on the Pin the Trade Bar option, which keeps it open until you manually close it. This is super helpful if you're in the middle of a trading session and need to refer back to previous trades.

If you need to close the Trade Bar, you can do so by clicking on the Close the Trade Bar option. Don't worry, any information you've entered into the Trade Bar will remain, even if you close it. Just keep in mind that this information will be lost when you end your current browser session.

To place a trade, simply click on the Buy or Sell option, and a Confirm Order dialog will appear with the details of the transaction.

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Order Entry Settings are an essential part of the trading process, and understanding how they work can make a big difference in your trading experience.

To access the Order Entry Settings, you can click and hold on a point in your chart, and a data tip will appear showing your order entry settings, quantity, and duration below the trade buttons.

The Order Entry Settings dialog will open, allowing you to change any of the values as needed. It's a great way to customize your trading settings to fit your specific needs.

You can also pin the Trade Bar to keep it open, which is helpful if you need to refer to your order entry settings frequently.

Here are some key things to know about the Order Entry Settings: