Trader Lingo Glossary

Tracks S&P 500 Index.

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Anything can happen!

A market profile pattern that represents a market dominated by selling and indicative of long liquidation.

Watching TopstepTV from beginning to end.

When something happens that is unexpected and volatile in the market.

Intermediaries executing orders for commissions.

Voiding a trade due to errors or CME/exchange rule violations when trades were made on the floor.

When you add more and more to a losing position as it goes against you.

Number of units in a futures or options contract. E.g. 1000 barrels of crude oil.

Buying back contract(s) to close short positions.

A CYA order is an alternate name for a STOP order. When you don’t want to give away that you’re talking about an exit strategy, you may refer to the order as a CYA.

An order flow measurement that totals the number of contracts that trade on the offer (positive delta) minus the number of contracts that trade on the bid (negative delta).

Price moving in one direction with Delta growing in the opposite direction.

A price ladder for execution that Shows bids and offers at specific prices.

A high characterized by a series of single print profiles.

A low characterized by a series of single print profiles.

The entire time that the open is open – 5:00 PM CT through 4:00 PM CT the next day.

When price extends beyond the current range but does not maintain price outside of the previous range. Typically rejection of price above or below the initial balance.

A fat finger is an error caused by pressing or clicking the wrong button on your trading platform, resulting in an unwanted position or inadvertently closing an open position. Fat fingers are human errors, not computer-generated errors.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) consists of twelve members–the seven members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; and four of the remaining eleven Reserve Bank presidents, who serve one-year terms on a rotating basis.

Buying when you meant to sell, or selling when you meant to buy.

An acronym that represents the “fear of missing out.” FOMO leads to many bad behaviors including revenge trading, over trading, and poor trade location.

Offset risk with an opposite position in a different market or contract month.

Large resting order that does not disclose the actual size bid or offered.

Math-based market analysis tool.

The first hour of Regular Trading Hours (RTH).

Coming to the markets unprepared – scatterbrained. Or, a commotion or confrontation caused by conflicting views.

A small position with a tight stop.

Selling to realize profits or cut losses.

Traders on exchange trading floors that traded for themselves (not a broker).

Buying with the expectation of a price rise.

Units of trade in various markets.

Buy or sell orders that are to be executed as close to the closing price as possible.

Adding to a losing position – putting “more-on”

A previous volume point of control that has not been re-tested during regular trading hours.

The OODA Loop is a decision-making framework that consists of four stages: observation (O), orientation (O), decision (D), and action (A).

How many contracts have been traded that have been carried over & not closed from previous sessions.

Hoag considers the first minute of trading during regular trading hours to be the opening range.

A market profile pattern that represents a market dominated by buying and indicative of short-covering.

Reference to the presence of large orders to buy or sell from institutional or professional traders. The term “paper” is used to distunguish larger orders from small retail orders.

A trade you feel you have to enter regardless of price action. PCP stands for “Point, click, and pray!” Trend days might be a day to “PCP” but be careful not to fall into FOMO.

Most visited price during the previous day’s Regular Trading Hours.

Getting out of a losing trade.

Using your max position size in a proprietary trading account.

When price establishes a range and then rotates largely between the high and ow of the early range.

When any new high or new low is made after the Initial Balance is established during Regular Trading Hours.

Regular trading hours in the futures markets refer to the old trading floor pit trading hours. For example, RTH for the E-Mini S&P 500 is 8:30am- 3:15pm CST.

Impulsive trade after losses.

Getting stabbed in a Philadelphia parking lot.

Selling with the hope of buying back at a lower price.

Offsetting short positions either to profit or to establish losses.

Short in a bad trade location; eg, in a short position near the low of the day.

Risk manager’s request to address issues.

Quantity of shares/contracts traded.

Trade execution at a different price than expected (usually stemming from a fast market environment or a sizable order that exhausts resting bids or offers). Only occurs with market orders.

A situation where there is a rapid and unpredictable change in market conditions, rapidly forcing traders in and out of the market, likely at bad entry and exit prices.

Placing deceptive orders to manipulate others or give a false sense of doing business at a specific price.

Difference between buy/sell price or the price between different products and contract months.

A textbook short squeeze

The real-time aggregate positions, sentiment, and bias of all Topstep traders.

The minimum price increment a contract can change.

Trading on tilt is when a trader’s emotions, like fear and greed, heavily impact their decisions, often resulting in impulsive and irrational actions.

A day when price moves in basically one direction, higher or lower, for the entire day. Higher highs and higher lows would be an indication of potential trend.

How many contracts have been traded.

Price where the most volume was traded during the current or previous days trading sessions.

When the market fails do do as expected after entry, or price just “wiggles” without direction.