What's the best way to enter futures orders?

[qazwsxedc]

Today was a pretty volatile day by any standard, and that made me wonder (again): What, in your opinion, is the best way to enter futures orders for directional trades?

To clarify: I'm not asking about shares, options, or spread orders - just about outright futures.

(I have voted limit in, limit out because I like capturing the bid-ask spread. Others may differ - if you do please say why.)

 

[PitchBlack]

Quote from qazwsxedc:

Today was a pretty volatile day by any standard, and that made me wonder (again): What, in your opinion, is the best way to enter futures orders for directional trades?

To clarify: I'm not asking about shares, options, or spread orders - just about outright futures.

(I have voted limit in, limit out because I like capturing the bid-ask spread. Others may differ - if you do please say why.)

I always trade market in, market out.
If i have a signal to trade i take the quote i can get. In this way i'm sure to get in or out. And as i trade e-minis the fills are always acceptable.
If you put a limit you risk not to get in or not to get out.
So i prefer to get always in or out when i want at a reasonable price instead of wanting the best price and miss several ins or outs. Missing trades costs me more than paying the market price.

 

[commodore]

just scale in, you will never be able to pick the exact top or bottom. learn how to scale in and out like a pro. This game is not about being right but managing your risk. that's it.

 

[ozzy]

It really depends on your strategy, style and current market conditions.

 

[qazwsxedc]

Quote from commodore:

just scale in, you will never be able to pick the exact top or bottom. learn how to scale in and out like a pro. This game is not about being right but managing your risk. that's it.

Managing risk is in a way what the question is about, like the risk of not getting filled on limit orders. Scaling is a separate issue and unrelated to bottom/top picking, I think - when you scale in or out, do you use limit or market orders?

 

[commodore]

if scalping always limit, if it's a bigger play im looking for, then I just want in, so market.