Lesson 6: Placing Your First Trades - Order Types

Part of Module 2: Getting Started - Your Trading Setup

Introduction: Taking Action Safely

You have your broker, your platform is set up, and you know the basic language. It's time to take the next step: placing your first practice trades. It is critical to understand that this entire process should be done on a demo account. You are not risking any real money. The goal here is to become comfortable with the mechanics of trading before you ever think about using real capital.

The Non-Negotiable Protective Orders

Before you even click "buy" or "sell," you must understand the two orders that will protect you. These are non-negotiable for every single trade.

  1. The Stop Loss (SL): Your Safety Net. A Stop Loss is an automatic order that closes your trade at a specific price for a small, pre-defined loss. Its only job is to prevent a large, catastrophic loss. Trading without a Stop Loss is like driving a car with no brakes.
  2. The Take Profit (TP): Your Target. A Take Profit is an automatic order that closes your trade when it reaches a specific profit target. This allows you to lock in your winnings without having to stare at the screen all day.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Placing a Trade

Think of this like a pilot's pre-flight checklist. You must follow these steps in order every time.

Step 1: Form a Bias (Your Idea). Look at a chart (e.g., EUR/USD). Based on what you see, do you have a reason to believe the price will go up or down? For now, this can be a simple guess.

Step 2: Define Your Levels (Your Plan). Before entering, you must know your three key prices: Your Entry Price, your Stop Loss Price (your safety net), and your Take Profit Price (your target).

Step 3: Execute in MT5 (The Action). In your MT5 chart, right-click and select "Trading" -> "New Order". In the window that appears, set your "Volume" (Lot Size, start with 0.01), your "Stop Loss" price, and your "Take Profit" price, then click "Sell by Market" or "Buy by Market".

Congratulations!

You've just placed a fully protected trade. You will see it appear in the "Terminal" window at the bottom of your screen, and you'll see your SL and TP levels as dotted lines on your chart.

Your Action Step: Practice this process several times on your demo account. Open trades, set your SL and TP, and watch how they behave. The goal is to build muscle memory.

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