Glossary / Order types
Stop loss
Definition
A resting order that exits a position once price reaches a set level.
Why it matters
A stop loss defines your risk before entry. Moving one further away mid-trade is the single most damaging habit a journal will expose.
Example
Long at $52.00 with a stop at $51.20 on 300 shares caps the loss at $240 plus slippage.
How to track it in a journal
TradeStack calculates the core performance numbers — win rate, average win and loss, profit factor, expectancy, drawdown and consistency — automatically from imported trades, so stop loss stops being something you estimate and becomes something you read.
Related terms
Market order
An instruction to buy or sell immediately at the best available price.
Limit order
An order to trade at a specified price or better.
Stop limit order
A stop that triggers a limit order rather than a market order.
Trailing stop
A stop that follows price by a fixed distance as the trade moves in your favour.
Keep reading
Trading journal guides
Expectancy, profit factor, drawdown, backtesting and the PDT rule.
Free trading calculators
Position size, risk-reward, expectancy and options profit.
Expectancy calculator
Expected profit per trade from your own numbers.
Broker CSV export guides
Step-by-step exports for Tradovate, NinjaTrader, IBKR and more.
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