Still missing entries? Or getting filled at terrible prices? The problem isn't your strategy — it's probably your order type. Most traders are solving for the wrong thing with their entry mechanics, and switching between market and limit orders at the wrong times.
Here's how to figure out which order type solves your specific problem.
Two Order Types, Two Problems
"There's two types of orders for entries: a limit order and a market order. Both are very similar, but one prioritizes getting into trades — the other prioritizes getting the best possible price."
Choose based on your weakness:
- Missing trades? → Market orders
- Getting bad fills? → Limit orders
Market Orders: Prioritize Getting In
"A market order is effectively telling the market that you want to get in at whatever price the market is giving you. Usually top of order book. When you click submit, you should expect to get filled right there and then."
Best for: Traders who keep missing entries. "A market order is a very good tool for you when you're struggling to get entries or you're clicking submit but you're not getting a fill on your price."
How to Execute a Market Order
Michael walks through the process:
- Set your stop loss in the order window
- Watch your blue line (reference price)
- When price is above your reference price (for shorts) or below it (for longs), click submit
"I would just be watching to see if I'm above my blue line or below my blue line. Once it's above that price — I click submit."
The trade-off is small: "I got filled at 994.25. The price was at 994.75. So a little bit of a difference there." You might get slight slippage, but you're in the trade.
Limit Orders: Prioritize Your Price
"A limit order is prioritizing getting you at a specific price. You are targeting or saying to the market: I want to get filled at this price or better."
Best for: Traders who get in but at poor prices. Limit orders give you precision.
The Missed Entry Problem
"If you submit an order as the trade is moving in your direction, especially in periods of high volatility, you're gonna end up missing a lot of entries because by the time you click submit, price is already going to be lower than what your current price is."
This is why many traders miss entries with limit orders — they're chasing momentum with a precision tool.
The Bid-Zero Technique
Michael uses a specific approach: "We do the bid-zero technique instead of setting a general limit order price, as it avoids potential rejection by your broker."
The key is timing: "You set your reference price. And then you're looking to click submit as price is moving against your thesis."
For a short: submit as price is moving higher. For a long: submit as price is moving lower. "If I click submit as the price is stalling or moving in the opposite direction of my bias, then I'm ensuring that my limit ends up being like a worst-case scenario price, and I'm getting a fill better than that."
Turning Limit Orders Into Market Orders
Here's Michael's advanced technique: "What I am doing with my technique, ideally, is I'm looking to turn my limit order into a market order — by clicking submit as the price is either stalling or moving in the opposite direction of my bias."
This gives you the precision of a limit order with the fill certainty approaching a market order. But it requires practice and timing.
The Recommendation for Beginners
"When you're starting out your trading journey, start with market orders. They're gonna be a little bit easier. It's gonna be simpler for you to watch your blue line reference price."
But keep your sizing conservative: "If you're going two or three or four or five contracts, that risk number is going to change very quickly with market orders. So keep your sizing a little bit smaller and just build up that muscle memory."
The progression:
- Start with market orders — build the habit of buying on pullbacks
- Master the timing — learn to enter as price moves against your thesis
- Graduate to limit orders — when you're ready for more precision
The One Thing That Actually Matters
"The reality here is all we care about is: did I get an entry better than the reference price? That's it. That's the main priority."
"If it's above, I'm happy. If it's below, I am not. And that should be the same way that you evaluate it."
The order type is just the tool. The result is what counts: "It doesn't matter how you get there. It's that you get there. So find the thing that is easiest for you to stop missing trades and then look to make your technique more complicated as you increase your skill level."
Key Takeaways
- Market orders prioritize getting filled — use when you're missing too many entries
- Limit orders prioritize your price — use when your fills are consistently bad
- Buy as price moves against your thesis — this applies to both order types
- Start with market orders as a beginner — simpler execution, easier muscle memory
- Keep sizing small with market orders — slippage risk increases with contract count
- Advanced technique: turn limits into markets — submit as price reverses into your zone
- The only metric that matters — did you get a better entry than the reference price?
- Progress from simple to complex — market orders first, limit precision later
Execute With Confidence
At DayTrader Funding, clean execution is what keeps funded traders funded. Whether you use market or limit orders, the goal is the same: get in at or below the reference price and let the system do its work. Get funded today.