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Order execution is the process of matching your order with available liquidity in the market. When you place an order, the terminal sends it to the exchange infrastructure, and then one of two things happens: it fills immediately or it waits on the order book. In Entry Finance, you can compare this directly against the live Order book and recent trades view. The result depends on the order type, current liquidity, and what is happening in the market at that moment.

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Market orders vs resting orders

Market orders execute against the best available prices already on the book. They usually fill immediately, but the average price may move if the order consumes more than one price level. Resting orders usually sit on the order book first. This is common for limit orders. They stay there until another trader matches them, you cancel them, or the system removes them. In simple terms:
  • a market order usually prioritizes speed
  • a resting limit order usually prioritizes price control
That is why the same market can produce very different execution results depending on how you send the order.

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Simple example

Imagine you place a market buy that is larger than the best ask level. The order may fill in pieces:
  • first part at 2,000
  • next part at 2,001
  • next part at 2,003
Your terminal then shows an average entry price across all those fills.
One order can have several fills at different prices. That is normal market behavior.

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Partial fills

An order does not always fill all at once. If there is not enough liquidity available at one price level, part of the order may execute first and the rest may continue waiting or keep matching at other levels. This is called a partial fill. For traders, the practical meaning is:
  • one order can create several fills
  • the average entry or exit price can change while the order is being completed
  • the remaining size can stay active if it was not fully matched
This is common with both market and limit orders, but it happens for different reasons:
  • market orders can fill across several levels if they consume multiple rows of liquidity
  • limit orders can fill only partly if not enough opposing liquidity reaches that price

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Slippage

Slippage is the difference between the price you expected and the average price you actually received. This usually happens because:
  • the order book is thin
  • the market moves while the order is being matched
  • your order size is large relative to nearby liquidity
Slippage is most visible with market orders and stop market orders, because those order types prioritize execution instead of exact price.

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Queue position and why a touched price may not fill you

Many traders think: if the market traded at my limit price, my order should be filled. In practice, that is not always true. If your limit order is resting at a price where other orders were already waiting first, those earlier orders can be matched before yours. This is a queue-position effect. That means:
  • touching your limit price does not guarantee a full fill
  • your order may fill partially while the rest stays open
  • a fast move through your level can leave you with less filled than expected
This is one of the most common sources of confusion for newer traders using limit entries and exits.

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Maker and taker outcomes

Execution is also affected by whether your order adds liquidity or removes it.
  • Taker behavior removes existing liquidity from the book. This usually means faster execution, but often with higher fees and more slippage risk.
  • Maker behavior adds liquidity to the book. This usually means more price control, but execution can take longer or remain incomplete.
In practice:
  • a market order is usually taker flow
  • a resting limit order is usually maker flow
  • a limit order that crosses the spread and executes immediately can behave like taker flow
So traders should not think only in terms of order labels. They should also think about what the order does to the book.

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What happens in a thin order book

Execution becomes less predictable when the order book is thin. In thin conditions:
  • spreads can widen
  • smaller orders can move price faster
  • market orders can jump through several levels
  • stop orders can trigger into a less efficient fill
That does not mean the terminal is malfunctioning. It means the available liquidity near the market is limited. This is why traders often check the order book before sending larger size or urgent exits.

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What affects execution

Execution is influenced by:
  • the order type you choose
  • current liquidity in the book
  • volatility
  • order size
  • whether the order takes liquidity immediately or rests on the book

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A practical reading of execution in Entry Finance

In Entry Finance, the cleanest way to think about execution is:
  1. Check the order type you are about to use.
  2. Check the nearby liquidity in the order book.
  3. Decide whether speed or price control matters more for this trade.
  4. After submission, confirm whether the order fully filled, partially filled, or is still resting in Orders.
If you want the trader-focused version of this topic, including how execution quality feels in real trading conditions, continue to Execution quality and slippage.