TickPilot

Futures Trading Glossary

A comprehensive futures glossary with 100+ definitions for ticks, margin, P&L, prop firms, and risk management.

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A

Account Balance
The total equity in your trading account available for margin and risk.
Average True Range (ATR)
A volatility indicator that measures average price movement over a set period.

B

Bid-Ask Spread
The difference between the highest bid and lowest ask price.
Break Even
The price at which profit and loss are zero after fees.
Broker Margin
Margin requirement set by your broker, often lower for day trading.

C

Calendar Spread
A strategy using different contract months for the same futures product.
Call Margin
A request for additional funds when account equity falls below requirements.
Cash Settlement
A contract that settles in cash rather than physical delivery.
CFTC
US regulator overseeing futures and derivatives markets.
Change in Open Interest
Daily change in the number of open contracts.
Chart Point Value
The dollar value of a one-point move for a futures contract.
Commission
The fee charged per side for a futures trade.
Contract Month
The month in which a futures contract expires.
Contract Size
The standardized amount of the underlying represented by a futures contract.
Continuous Contract
A chart that rolls futures contracts to create a continuous price series.
Conversion Factor
Used in bond futures to standardize deliverable securities.
Cross Margin
Using margin across multiple positions to reduce overall requirement.

D

Daily Loss Limit
Maximum loss allowed per day, common in prop firm rules.
Daily Settlement
Official end-of-day price published by the exchange.
Day Trading Margin
Reduced intraday margin offered by brokers.
Delta
The sensitivity of an option price to a one-point move in the underlying.
Delivery
The process of transferring the underlying asset at contract expiration.
Drawdown
Peak-to-trough decline in account equity.

E

E-mini
A smaller futures contract sized at a fraction of the standard contract.
Entry Price
The price at which a trade is opened.
Exchange Fee
Fee charged by the exchange per contract.
Expiration
The final trading day for a futures contract.

F

FOMC
Federal Open Market Committee; its decisions can impact futures volatility.
Fee Per Side
Commission or exchange fee applied to each entry or exit.
Fibonacci Extension
A tool for projecting target prices based on prior moves.
First Notice Day
The first day a long futures holder can be assigned delivery.
Front Month
The nearest futures contract month with active trading.
Futures Contract
A standardized agreement to buy or sell an asset at a future date and price.
Futures Curve
Prices across contract months for the same product.

G

Gamma
The rate of change of delta for options.
Good Till Cancelled (GTC)
An order that remains active until filled or cancelled.

H

Hedging
Reducing risk by taking an offsetting position.
High Probability Trade
A setup with statistical edge based on a defined method.

I

Initial Margin
Minimum equity required to open a futures position.
Intraday
Within the same trading day.

L

Leverage
Controlling a large position with a smaller amount of capital.
Limit Order
An order to buy or sell at a specified price or better.
Liquidity
The ease of entering and exiting without large price impact.
Long
A position that benefits from price increases.
Lot Size
The number of contracts traded in a single order.

M

Maintenance Margin
Minimum equity required to keep a position open.
Margin Call
Broker request for additional funds when equity drops below required margin.
Market Order
An order to buy or sell immediately at the best available price.
Mark to Market
Daily revaluation of open positions at settlement price.
Micro Futures
Smaller contracts sized at 1/10th of standard contracts.
Minimum Price Fluctuation
The smallest allowable price movement, also called tick size.
Momentum
The tendency of price to continue moving in the same direction.

N

National Futures Association (NFA)
US self-regulatory organization for futures industry.
Net Liquidation Value
Account value after positions are marked to market.
Notional Value
Total value of the underlying represented by a futures contract.

O

OCO (One Cancels Other)
A pair of orders where filling one cancels the other.
Open Interest
The number of open futures contracts.
Order Flow
Real-time buying and selling activity.
Overnight Margin
Margin required to hold positions beyond the trading day.

P

P&L (Profit and Loss)
The net gain or loss from a trade.
Partial Fill
An order that is only partially executed.
Point Value
Dollar value of a one-point move, based on tick size and tick value.
Position Size
Number of contracts traded.
Post-Trade Analysis
Review of trade execution, risk, and performance.
Pre-Market
Trading session before the main cash session opens.
Price Ladder
A vertical display of price levels and order flow.
Price Limit
Maximum daily price movement allowed by the exchange.
Prop Firm
A firm that funds traders and imposes risk rules.
Pyramiding
Adding to a winning position as price moves in your favor.

Q

Quote
The current bid and ask prices.

R

Realized P&L
Profit or loss from closed trades.
Rollover
Shifting a position to a new contract month.
Risk Per Trade
Maximum loss allowed on a single trade.
Risk/Reward Ratio
Expected reward divided by risk for a trade.
Round Trip
A complete trade consisting of entry and exit.

S

Scalp
A short-term trade targeting small price moves.
Seasonality
Recurring market patterns tied to time of year.
Settlement Price
Official daily closing price used for marking positions.
Short
A position that benefits from price declines.
Slippage
Difference between expected and actual execution price.
Spread
A trade involving multiple contracts to capture price differences.
Stop Order
An order that triggers once price hits a specified level.
Stop Loss
A protective order to limit downside risk.
Stop Limit
A stop order that becomes a limit order at a set price.
Support
A price level where buying interest often appears.
Swap
A derivative agreement to exchange cash flows.

T

Technical Analysis
Analysis using price and volume patterns.
Tick
Minimum price movement for a contract.
Tick Size
The smallest price increment for a futures contract.
Tick Value
Dollar value of a one-tick move.
Time and Sales
A tape of executed trades with price and size.
Time Stop
Exiting a trade after a time limit if it does not move.
Trading Hours
The hours a futures market is open.
Trailing Stop
A stop loss that follows price as it moves favorably.

U

Underlying
The asset a derivative contract is based on.
Unrealized P&L
Profit or loss on open positions.

V

Value Area
The price range where most volume traded.
Volatility
The degree of price variation over time.
Volume
The number of contracts traded.
VWAP
Volume-weighted average price.

W

Wash Sale
A rule preventing tax benefits from rapid repurchase.
Whipsaw
Rapid price reversals that trigger stops.
Working Order
An active order waiting to be filled.

Y

Yield
Return on a bond, often influences rates futures.

Z

Z-Score
A statistical measure of deviation from mean price.
Zoom Level
Chart scaling used to analyze market context.