Be very diligent around the open. Trades accumulate before the bell and once the market opens the market makers get to work on this stack of orders. Traders often do not know the quanity of orders out there waiting and whether or not they are buys or sells. This makes it very tough to tell where the stock is headed in the minutes after the open or how long it will take for orders to be filled. If your stock is trading for the first time or has been volatile, it can have tumultuous opening minutes. Once the market is open you have a better and clearer idea of what is happening.

If you are used to having order confirmations within seconds, be careful about canceling if minutes go by without a confirmation. Your trade may have been executed even if the confimation is late. Result: unwanted duplicate orders can pile up.

Think about the price you are willing to pay before ever entering an order and use an order type that takes that into account, instead of canceling when your stock moves out of your range. Check with your broker, some offer cancel/replace orders so if your order has not been executed, it is canceled and automatically replaced with a new order. If your order has been executed, the replacement order is canceled.

Don't use the same type of order for evey trading situation. You need to think about if you want the stock at any price or do you want it because it is a good value at a certain price.

You have to see what is going on with the market and match your choice up with that at the time. Every trade contains a compromise.

As you know a "market order", which is an order to buy or sell at the best available price, takes precedence over all others. It will get filled eventually and with some online brokers they are cheaper than other types of orders. Market orders are good under the following situations: if the stock trades on an even keel; you really want the stock; or you are looking to make a long term investment.

The risk you run is getting filled at a price far from the price the stock was trading at when you placed your order. And if your stock is really bouncing around erratically, a market order can give you a very unpleasant surprise! You may see limited market orders by some brokers in early trading of certain IPO's.

Traders have a slew of orders to limit the price they are willing to pay for a stock or the length of time they are willing to wait for a fill.

You should look at all your options and refer to the report on "orders" you received when you became a paid member. And remember that acceptable orders vary between brokers, call their customer service reps and/or check out their education sections on the Web sites.

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