Please consider the language of trading to be a very important part of your education. A good broker will help you and work to understand precisely what type of order you would like to place. However, realize that in the end, it is YOUR responsibility to educate yourself and communicate your orders as clearly as possible. These orders can be placed for futures and options trades:

Market Order

Order that does not specify a price; executed at the best possible price currently available. This order is executed immediately at the "market price" -- it is the quickest way in or out of the market.

Market if Touched (MIT) Order

A "market if touched" order specifies a price, but MIT orders become market orders once the market reaches or passes through the limit price. This order may be executed at, above or below the originally specified price; "MIT buy" orders are placed below the current price, while "MIT sell" orders are placed above the current price.

Market on Close (MOC) order

Order executed during the final minutes of trading at the best possible price.

Limit Order

This order obligates the pit broker to secure the best possible price for the customer; think of it as a market order with a limit. If an order is not designated with an OB and the current market price is close to the price specified in the order, the pit broker may question the runner to determine whether the order should have been a stop order. In this case, the order may be returned for clarification, which could delay execution of the order and could change the results of the fill. Also can be called an "OB" as it specifies to the broker that the order should be bought or sold (whichever the case) at a specific price or better.

Market on Opening (MOO) Order

Order executed during the opening range of trading at the best possible price obtainable within the opening range.

Stop Order

Stop orders become market orders and are then executed only when the market trades at a specified price. Stop orders can be used to minimize a loss on a long or short position, to protect a profit on an existing long position or short position, or to initiate a new long or short position. A "buy stop" order is placed above the current price; a "sell stop" order is placed below the market.

Spread Order

Placing two or more opposite orders in an attempt to gain more price control by maintaining counterbalancing long and short positions in different contracts or in different months within the same contract; also an order to buy and sell two different contracts at a specified differential. Traders use spread to gain arbitrage—simultaneous purchase and sale of futures or options contracts that seeks to benefit from price variations.

You must also designate each order as a day or open order:

Day Order

Day orders expire if they cannot be executed (e.g., the market price does not reach or pass through the limit price of the order) on the day they were placed.

Open Order

Open orders continue to exist until they are executed. If an open order cannot be executed on the day it is placed (e.g., because the market price does not reach or pass through the limit price of the order) it will be filled on the next trading day or stay open until it can be filled, is canceled or the contract expires. Telling the broker "GTC" (Good Til Cancelled) will also let them know that you want the order to be working on the floor of the exchange until it is executed, replaced or cancelled.