Order Entry Preferences - Triggers for All Asset Classes

Use the Triggers dialog to specify the price pattern that will trigger a Stop or If Touched order. This feature is designed to help the trader mitigate the risk of a bad price tick triggering a stop order inadvertently.

  There is no guarantee that this feature will prevent all circumstances of a bad price tick triggering a stop order or prevent a bad stop order fill price.

 Access using the Desktop File > Preferences > Order Entry menu sequence and select an asset class (Equities, Options, or Futures) > Triggers.

Stop/If Touched Trigger Types

Controls the TradeStation order server settings for stop order trigger types for all asset classes.

  • Select an item from the drop-down list to use as the trigger for a Stop or If Touched order.
  • For equities:
    • NYSE/AMEX - Select an item from the drop-down list to use as the trigger for an Equities Stop or If Touched order for these markets.
    • Nasdaq/Nasdaq Small Cap - Select an item from the drop-down list to use as the trigger for an Equities Stop or If Touched order for these markets.

Definitions

  • Bid/Ask and Ask/Bid triggers use your order side (Buy/Cover or Sell/Sell Short) to determine which tick price to use:
    • Stop orders = Bid/Ask = Sell on Bid tick/Buy on Ask tick
    • Stop orders = Ask/Bid = Sell on Ask tick/Buy on Bid tick
    • If Touched orders = Bid/Ask = Buy on Ask tick/Sell on Bid tick
    • If Touched orders = Ask/Bid = Buy on Bid tick/Sell on Ask tick
  • A Double Trade Tick (DTT) refers to two consecutive ticks, and Twice Trade Tick (TTT) refers to two ticks (can be non-consecutive) within the same trading day.
  • NBBO refers to National Best Bid and Offer (Offer means Ask).

  When working with multi-leg options orders, there are no trade ticks, so natural pricing is used. See below for examples of trigger types for all asset classes.

Expand All

Trigger Types for Stop and If Touched Orders

The following describe the use of single, double, and twice triggers with stop and if touched orders.

Click an arrow to expand an item, or again to collapse.

Stop Orders If Touched Orders
Trigger Type Order Type Description Example Description Example
Single Trade Tick (STT)

(Selected by Default)

 Buy Orders One trade tick must print at or above your stop price to trigger your buy stop order. If you place a stop order to Buy at $50, a trade tick at or above $50 will trigger the order. One trade tick must print at or below your If Touched price to trigger your buy order. If you place an order to Buy at $50, a trade tick at or below $50 will trigger the order.
Sell Orders One trade tick must print at or below your stop price to trigger your sell stop order. If you place a stop order to Sell at $50, a trade tick at or below $50 will trigger the order. One trade tick must print at or above your If Touched price to trigger your sell order. If you place an order to Sell at $50, a trade tick at or above $50 will trigger the order.
Single Trade Tick within NBBO (STTN) Buy Orders One trade tick must print within the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) at or above your stop price to trigger your buy stop order. If you place a stop order to Buy at $50, the trade tick must be greater than or equal to the inside bid and must be less than or equal to the inside ask, at or above the stop price of $50 to trigger the order. One trade tick must print within the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) at or below your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched buy order. If you place an If Touched order to Buy at $50, the trade tick must be greater than or equal to the inside bid and must be less than or equal to the inside ask, at or below the If Touched price of $50 to trigger the order.
Sell Orders One trade tick must print within the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) at or below your stop price to trigger your sell stop order. If you place a stop order to Sell at $50, the trade tick must be greater than or equal to the inside bid and must be less than or equal to the inside ask, at or below the stop price of $50 to trigger the order. One trade tick must print within the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) at or above your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched sell order. If you place an If Touched order to Sell at $50, the trade tick must be greater than or equal to the inside bid and must be less than or equal to the inside ask, at or above the If Touched price of $50 to trigger the order.
Single Bid/Ask Tick (SBA) Buy Orders One Ask tick must print at or above your stop price to trigger your buy stop order. If you place a stop order to Buy at $50, one Ask tick at or above $50 will trigger the order. One Ask tick must print at or below your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched buy order. If you place an If Touched order to Buy at $50, one Ask tick at or below $50 will trigger the order.
Sell Orders One Bid tick must print at or below your stop price to trigger your sell stop order. If you place a stop order to Sell at $50, one Bid tick at or below $50 will trigger the order. One Bid tick must print at or above your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched sell order. If you place an If Touched order to Sell at $50, one Bid tick at or above $50 will trigger the order.
Single Ask/Bid Tick (SAB) Buy Orders One Bid tick must print at or above your stop price to trigger your buy stop order. If you place a stop order to Buy at $50, one Bid tick at or above $50 will trigger the order. One Bid tick must print at or below your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched buy order. If you place an If Touched order to Buy at $50, one Bid tick at or below $50 will trigger the order.
Sell Orders One Ask tick must print at or below your stop price to trigger your sell stop order. If you place a stop order to Sell at $50, one Ask tick at or below $50 will trigger the order. One Ask tick must print at or above your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched sell order. If you place an If Touched order to Sell at $50, One Ask tick at or above $50 will trigger the order.
Stop Orders If Touched Orders
Trigger Type Order Type Description Example Description Example
Double Trade Tick (DTT) Buy Orders Two consecutive trade ticks must print at or above your stop price to trigger your buy stop order. If you place a stop order to Buy at $50, two consecutive ticks at or above $50 will trigger the order. Two consecutive trade ticks must print at or below your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched buy order. If you place an If Touched order to Buy at $50, two consecutive trade ticks at or below $50 will trigger the order.
Sell Orders Two consecutive trade ticks must print at or below your stop price to trigger your sell stop order. If you place a stop order to Sell at $50, two consecutive ticks at or below $50 will trigger the order. Two consecutive trade ticks must print at or above your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched sell order. If you place an If Touched order to Sell at $50, two consecutive trade ticks at or above $50 will trigger the order.
Double Trade Tick within NBBO (DTTN) Buy Orders Two consecutive trade ticks must print within the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) at or above your stop price to trigger your buy stop order. If you place a stop order to Buy at $50, two consecutive ticks must be greater than or equal to the inside bid and must be less than or equal to the inside ask, at or above the stop price of $50 to trigger the order. Two consecutive trade ticks must print within the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) at or below your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched buy order. If you place an If Touched order to Buy at $50, two consecutive trade ticks must be greater than or equal to the inside bid and must be less than or equal to the inside ask, at or below the If Touched price of $50 to trigger the order.
Sell Orders Two consecutive trade ticks must print within the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) at or below your stop price to trigger your sell stop order. If you place a stop order to Sell at $50, two consecutive ticks must be greater than or equal to the inside bid and must be less than or equal to the inside ask, at or below the stop price of $50 to trigger the order. Two consecutive trade ticks must print within the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) at or above your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched sell order. If you place an If Touched order to Sell at $50, two consecutive trade ticks must be greater than or equal to the inside bid and must be less than or equal to the inside ask, at or above the If Touched price of $50 to trigger the order.
Double Bid/Ask Tick (DBA) Buy Orders Two consecutive Ask ticks must print at or above your stop price to trigger your buy stop order. If you place a stop order to Buy at $50, two consecutive Ask ticks at or above $50 will trigger the order. Two consecutive Ask ticks must print at or below your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched buy order. If you place an If Touched order to Buy at $50, two consecutive Ask ticks at or below $50 will trigger the order.
Sell Orders Two consecutive Bid ticks must print at or below your stop price to trigger your sell stop order. If you place a stop order to Sell at $50, two consecutive Bid ticks at or below $50 will trigger the order. Two consecutive Bid ticks must print at or above your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched sell order. If you place an If Touched order to Sell at $50, two consecutive Bid ticks at or above $50 will trigger the order.
Double Ask/Bid Tick (DAB) Buy Orders Two consecutive Bid ticks must print at or above your stop price to trigger your buy stop order. If you place a stop order to Buy at $50, two consecutive Bid ticks at or above $50 will trigger the order. Two consecutive Bid ticks must print at or below your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched buy order. If you place an If Touched order to Buy at $50, two consecutive Bid ticks at or below $50 will trigger the order.
Sell Orders Two consecutive Ask ticks must print at or below your stop price to trigger your sell stop order. If you place a stop order to Sell at $50, two consecutive Ask ticks at or below $50 will trigger the order. Two consecutive Ask ticks must print at or above your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched sell order. If you place an If Touched order to Sell at $50, two consecutive Ask ticks at or above $50 will trigger the order.
Stop Orders If Touched Orders
Trigger Type Order Type Description Example Description Example
Twice Trade Tick (TTT) Buy Orders Two non-consecutive trade ticks in the same day must print at or above your stop price to trigger your buy stop order. If you place a stop order to Buy at $50, two non-consecutive ticks at or above $50 will trigger the order. Two non-consecutive trade ticks in the same day must print at or below your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched buy order. If you place an If Touched order to Buy at $50, two non-consecutive trade ticks at or below $50 will trigger the order.
Sell Orders Two non-consecutive trade ticks in the same day must print at or below your stop price to trigger your sell stop order. If you place a stop order to Sell at $50, two non-consecutive ticks at or below $50 will trigger the order. Two consecutive trade ticks must print at or above your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched sell order. If you place an If Touched order to Sell at $50, two non-consecutive trade ticks at or above $50 will trigger the order.
Twice Trade Tick within NBBO (TTTN) Buy Orders Two non-consecutive trade ticks in the same day must print within the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) at or above your stop price to trigger your buy stop order. If you place a stop order to Buy at $50, two non-consecutive ticks must be greater than or equal to the inside bid and must be less than or equal to the inside ask, at or above the stop price of $50 to trigger the order. Two non-consecutive trade ticks in the same day must print within the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) at or below your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched buy order. If you place an If Touched order to Buy at $50, two non-consecutive trade ticks must be greater than or equal to the inside bid and must be less than or equal to the inside ask, at or below the If Touched price of $50 to trigger the order.
Sell Orders Two non-consecutive trade ticks in the same day must print within the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) at or below your stop price to trigger your sell stop order. If you place a stop order to Sell at $50, two non-consecutive ticks must be greater than or equal to the inside bid and must be less than or equal to the inside ask, at or below the stop price of $50 to trigger the order. Two non-consecutive trade ticks in the same day must print within the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) at or above your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched sell order. If you place an If Touched order to Sell at $50, two non-consecutive trade ticks must be greater than or equal to the inside bid and must be less than or equal to the inside ask, at or above the If Touched price of $50 to trigger the order.
Twice Bid/Ask Tick (TBA) Buy Orders Two non-consecutive Ask ticks must print in the same day at or above your stop price to trigger your buy stop order. If you place a stop order to Buy at $50, two non-consecutive Ask ticks at or above $50 will trigger the order. Two non-consecutive Ask ticks in the same day must print at or below your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched buy order. If you place an If Touched order to Buy at $50, two non-consecutive Ask ticks at or below $50 will trigger the order.
Sell Orders Two non-consecutive Bid ticks must print in the same day at or below your stop price to trigger your sell stop order. If you place a stop order to Sell at $50, two non-consecutive Bid ticks at or below $50 will trigger the order. Two non-consecutive Bid ticks in the same day must print at or above your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched sell order. If you place an If Touched order to Sell at $50, two non-consecutive Bid ticks at or above $50 will trigger the order.
Twice Ask/Bid Tick (TAB) Buy Orders Two non-consecutive Bid ticks must print in the same day at or above your stop price to trigger your buy stop order. If you place a stop order to Buy at $50, two non-consecutive Bid ticks at or above $50 will trigger the order. Two non-consecutive Bid ticks in the same day must print at or below your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched buy order. If you place an If Touched order to Buy at $50, two non-consecutive Bid ticks at or below $50 will trigger the order.
Sell Orders Two nonconsecutive Ask ticks must print in the same day at or below your stop price to trigger your sell stop order. If you place a stop order to Sell at $50, two non-consecutive Ask ticks at or below $50 will trigger the order. Two non-consecutive Ask ticks in the same day must print at or above your If Touched price to trigger your If Touched sell order. If you place an If Touched order to Sell at $50, two non-consecutive Ask ticks at or above $50 will trigger the order.

The above trigger types (single, double, and twice) also allow you to specify the type of tick, number, and pattern of ticks that will trigger a specific row of an activation rule. Bid/Ask and Ask/Bid triggers use the comparison operator (>/>= or </<=) for the row to determine which type of tick to compare.

Examples

The following are examples of different types of Stop and If Touched triggers. Click an arrow to expand a item, or again to collapse.

Market If Touched (MIT) and Limit If Touch (LIT) Trigger Type Examples (For Equities)

Let’s look at a table that shows If Touched trigger types for buy and sell orders for equities:

Underlying Price   Trigger Price for Limit Orders Trigger Price for Market Stop Orders Trigger Price for Market If Touched (MIT) Orders Trigger Price for Stop Limit Order Trigger Price for Limit if Touched (LIT) Order
45 Buy Orders Buy limit <= 40 Buy stop >= 50 Buy MIT <= 40 Buy stop limit >= 50 Order sent at limit price Buy LIT <= 40 Order sent at limit price
Sell Orders Sell limit >= 50 Sell stop <= 40 Sell MIT >= 50 Sell stop limit <= 40 Order sent at limit price Sell LIT >= 50 Order sent at limit price

Example 1: If you place a Market if Touched buy order at <= $40, when the underlying price is $45, and then the underlying price moves to $40 or lower, a market order is triggered.

Example 2: If you place a Market if Touched sell order at >= $50, when the underlying price is $45, and then the underlying price moves to $50 or higher, a market order is triggered.

Market If Touched (MIT) and Limit If Touched (LIT) Trigger Type Examples (For Single Options)

Let’s look at a table that shows If Touched trigger types for buy and sell orders for single options:

Option Price   Trigger Price for Limit Orders Trigger Price for Market Stop Orders Trigger Price for Market If Touched (MIT) Orders Trigger Price for Stop Limit Order Trigger Price for Limit if Touched (LIT) Order
1.50 Buy Orders Buy limit <= 1.20 Buy stop >= 1.80 Buy MIT <= 1.20 Buy stop limit >= 1.80 Order sent at limit price Buy LIT <= 1.20 Order sent at limit price
Sell Orders Sell limit >= 1.80 Sell stop <= 1.20 Sell MIT >= 1.80 Sell stop limit <= 1.20 Order sent at limit price Sell LIT >= 1.80 Order sent at limit price

Example 1: If you place a Market if Touched buy order at <= $1.20, when the option price is $1.50, and then the option price moves to $1.20 or lower, a market order is triggered.

Example 2: If you place a Market if Touched sell order at >= $1.80, when the option price is $1.50, and then the option price moves to $1.80 or higher, a market order is triggered.

Let’s look at examples for both the SBA and SAB trigger types using the following option chain:

Calls  
Bid Ask Strike
1.18 1.41 120
0.71 0.92 125

SBA Trigger Types (Vertical Example)

For an SBA trigger type, let’s use a 120/125 long call vertical as an example, where 120 is long and 125 is short. Follow these steps to calculate the spread price used to evaluate stop triggering:

  1. Multiply the ask price of the 120 strike (1.41) by the minimum ratio quantity of the long call (+1) to see that the total ask price is 1.41.
  2. Multiply the bid price of the 125 strike (0.71) by the minimum ratio quantity of the short call (-1) to see that the total bid price is -0.71.
  3. Add the total ask price of the 120 strike (1.41) and the total bid price of the 125 strike (-0.71), to see that the trade will trigger if the spread price of 0.70 is >= the stop price.
Strike Leg Price Minimum Ratio Quantity Total Price
120 1.41 (Ask Price) +1 (long) 1.41 (Ask Price)
125 0.71 (Bid Price) -1 (short) -0.71 (Bid Price)
      0.70

SAB Trigger Types (Vertical Example)

The SAB trigger type is more conservative than the SBA, and will not trigger stops as easily. For example, let’s use the same 120/125 long call vertical, where 120 is long and 125 is short. Follow these steps to calculate the trigger price:

  1. Multiply the bid price of the 120 strike (1.18) by the minimum ratio quantity of the long call (+1) to see that the total bid price is 1.18.
  2. Multiply the ask price of the 125 strike (.92) by the minimum ratio quantity of the short call (-1) to see that the total ask price is -.92.
  3. Add the total bid price of the 120 strike (1.18) and the total ask price of the 125 strike (-.92), to see that the trade will trigger if the spread price of 0.26 is >= the stop price.
Strike Leg Price Minimum Ratio Quantity Total Price
120 1.18 (Bid Price) +1 (long) 1.18 (Bid Price)
125 0.92 (Ask Price) -1 (short) -0.92 (Ask Price)
      0.26

Let’s look at examples for both the SBA and SAB trigger types using the following option chain:

Calls  
Bid Ask Strike
1.18 1.41 120
0.71 0.92 125
0.42 0.62 130

SBA Trigger Types (Butterfly Example)

For an SBA trigger type, let’s use a 120/125/130 long call butterfly as an example, where 120 is long, 125 is short, and 130 is long. Follow these steps to calculate the trigger price:

  1. Multiply the ask price of the 120 strike (1.41) by the minimum ratio quantity of the long call (+1) to see that the total ask price is 1.41.
  2. Multiply the bid price of the 125 strike (0.71) by the minimum ratio quantity of the short call (-2) to see that the total bid price is -1.42.
  3. Multiply the ask price of the 130 strike (0.62) by the minimum ratio quantity of the long call (+1) to see that the total ask price is 0.62.
  4. Add the total ask price of the 120 strike (1.41), the total bid price of the 125 strike (-1.42), and the total ask price of the 130 strike (0.62) to see that the trade will trigger if the spread price of 0.61 is >= the stop price.
Strike Leg Price Minimum Ratio Quantity Total Price
120 1.41 (Ask Price) +1 (long) 1.41 (Ask Price)
125 0.71 (Bid Price) -2 (short) -1.42 (Bid Price)
130 0.62 (Ask Price) +1 (long) 0.62 (Ask Price)
      0.61

SAB Trigger Types (Butterfly Example)

The SAB trigger type is the inverse of the SBA. For example, let’s use the same 120/125/130 long call butterfly, where 120 is long, 125 is short, and 130 is long. Follow these steps to calculate the trigger price:

  1. Multiply the bid price of the 120 strike (1.18) by the minimum ratio quantity of the long call (+1) to see that the total bid price is 1.18.
  2. Multiply the ask price of the 125 strike (0.92) by the minimum ratio quantity of the short call (-2) to see that the total ask price is -1.84.
  3. Multiply the bid price of the 130 strike (0.42) by the minimum ratio quantity of the long call (+1) to see that the total bid price is 0.42.
  4. Add the total bid price of the 120 strike (1.18), the total ask price of the 125 strike (-1.84), and the total bid price of the 130 strike (0.42) to see that the trade will trigger if the spread price of -0.24 is >= the stop price.
Strike Leg Price Minimum Ratio Quantity Total Price
120 1.18 (Bid Price) +1 (long) 1.18 (Bid Price)
125 0.92 (Ask Price) -2 (short) -1.84 (Ask Price)
130 0.42 (Bid Price) +1 (long) 0.42 (Bid Price)
      -0.24
Related Topics

Setting Order Entry Preferences

About Trade Bar