This is the moment the theory becomes real: actually opening, protecting and closing a trade in MetaTrader. It is a short, repeatable routine. Do it on a demo account a few times and it becomes second nature. Follow along in your platform as you read.
01 Open the order window
To bring up the order ticket, double-click a pair in Market Watch, or press F9, or click the New Order button on the toolbar. A window opens with everything you need to place one trade. Nothing happens until you click a buy or sell button, so it is safe to open it and look around.
02 Fill in the ticket
There are only a few fields that matter. Symbol is the pair. Volume is your trade size in lots, and this is where you keep yourself safe by choosing a micro or mini lot while learning. Stop loss is the price where the trade closes automatically if it goes wrong, and take profit is the price where it closes in profit. Set both before you enter. The type field lets you choose an instant market execution or a pending order at a price you name, exactly as we covered in the order types lesson.
03 Buy or sell
Two buttons finish the job. Click Buy if you expect the pair to rise, or Sell if you expect it to fall. The trade opens at the current market price and immediately appears in the Terminal at the bottom of the screen, showing a small profit or loss straight away because of the spread. That is normal, and we explained why in the pairs and spreads lesson.
04 Manage and close the trade
Once a trade is live you manage it from the Terminal's Trade tab. Right-click the position to modify it, which lets you move the stop-loss and take-profit, for example to lock in profit as the trade moves your way. When you want out, right-click and choose to close the position, or simply close the whole thing at market. You do not have to sit and watch, because your stop-loss and take-profit will close the trade for you if you are away.
Two catch people out. Entering with no stop-loss, which we have warned about already, and fat-fingering the volume. Typing 1 when you meant 0.01 turns a micro lot into a full standard lot, a hundred times the risk. Read the volume field twice, every single time, until it is a habit.
- Name two ways to open the order window.
- Which field sets your trade size, and what should a beginner keep it small with?
- Where do you go to modify or close a live trade?
Show answers
1) Double-click a pair in Market Watch, press F9, or click New Order. 2) The volume field, kept to a micro or mini lot. 3) The Terminal's Trade tab, by right-clicking the position.
- Open the order window with a double-click, F9 or New Order. Nothing trades until you click buy or sell.
- Set volume, stop-loss and take-profit before you enter. Buy if you expect a rise, sell if you expect a fall.
- Manage and close trades from the Terminal, and double-check the volume every time.
Enter the stop-loss price in the order window before you place the trade, or right-click an open position in the Terminal, choose Modify, and add or move the stop-loss level there.
Go to the Trade tab in the Terminal, right-click the open position and choose to close it, or click the small cross next to the position. It closes at the current market price.
It is an order that only opens if price reaches a level you set in advance, rather than trading at the current price. It is useful for planning an entry without watching the screen.
Further reading: Executing trades in MetaTrader 5, the official MetaQuotes guide to sending orders and managing positions.
Next lesson: set up your charts and save a template →