The order panel sits beside your chart and is where you place trades. The layout is built so you can act quickly and still see exactly what you are about to do.
Buy and Sell side by side
Buy and Sell are two separate columns, each with its own order type buttons. You fire on the side you want in a single click, with no toggle to flip first.
If you are new to this: buying opens a position that profits when the price rises, and selling opens one that profits when the price falls. Selling before you own anything is normal in futures.
The three order types
MKT (market) — buy or sell right now, at the best available price. Use it when getting in or out matters more than the exact price.
LMT (limit) — buy or sell only at a price you set or better. The order waits until the market reaches it, and may never fill. Use it when the price matters more than the timing.
STP (stop) — activates once the market reaches a price you set. Most often used to get out if the market moves against you.
A limit order sits and waits for a better price. A stop order sits and waits for a worse one, because it is there to protect you. That is the difference worth remembering.
You will also see ASK and BID, the best current prices to buy and to sell.
Quantity
Quantity is the number of contracts, set with a minus and plus stepper plus presets of 1, 2, 5 and 10.
Two contracts make and lose money exactly twice as fast as one. On a prop account, quantity is also what your contract limit is measured against, so start small.
Brackets
Your take profit and stop loss sit behind a Brackets dropdown, so the panel stays clean until you want them. A bracket is a target to take profit and a stop to limit a loss, attached to your position. See Take profit and stop loss brackets.
Price fields move one tick at a time
For limit and stop orders the price fields step one tick at a time. A tick is the smallest amount a contract's price can move. Scroll on the field, use the arrows, or press Arrow Up and Arrow Down to nudge it.
Bottom actions
Along the bottom are grouped actions: Breakeven, Cancel Orders, Close Position, Reverse Position, Flatten All and Cancel All.
Flatten means close everything and cancel your orders in one go. Reverse closes what you hold and opens the same size on the opposite side. These stay available even when your account is locked, so you can always get out.
Your settings stick
Order type, side, quantity and bracket toggles are remembered across refreshes, so the panel comes back the way you left it.