PRACTICAL GUIDE
Explained concepts, worked cases and practice to test your understanding. Numerical examples are hypothetical; replace assumptions with your instrument specifications.
The essentials
Slippage is a difference between a reference or requested price and execution price. It may help or hurt. Volatility, liquidity and order rules matter; one screenshot does not establish behavior across all trades.
Understand the mechanism, not just the definition
Slippage compares execution with a defined reference price. It can be favorable or unfavorable and differs from spread and commission. Omitting time, direction or reference can reverse its interpretation. Volatility and liquidity matter, but one screenshot does not prove manipulation: document the full order lifecycle.
Example and verification
Hypothetical example: a buy requested at 1.1000 executes at 1.1003. The difference is 0.0003 before conversion into pips and money under the contract. Retain server time, ticket, size, order type and reference quote.
Worked case, step by step
A buy referenced to ask 1.10000 and filled at 1.10030 has 3 pips of unfavorable difference, or USD 0.30 at 1,000 units. For a sell, filling 0.00030 above the reference can be favorable. Group comparable executions by time and instrument and examine the median and extremes rather than generalizing from one trade.
What to verify when applying this
Compare execution under equivalent scenarios and read the order policy. Do not rely on a blanket promise of zero slippage. Submit incident evidence through private support and redact identifiers in public explanations.
Practice: verify it in your environment
Learn by observing the process and keeping its data. Complete this practice in demo or using documentation, without sending real orders or adding capital for the exercise. Record differences between the example and your account specifications.
- Record reference bid/ask, time, order type, volume and fill price.
- Separate slippage, spread and commissions when analyzing history.
Test your understanding
Try the question before revealing the answer. Justify the conclusion and its assumptions rather than memorizing a number.
Is a higher execution price always worse?
Reveal the explained answer
No. It depends on buy versus sell and which execution is being evaluated. Record direction before assigning a sign.
Sources for further learning
Consult original documentation to check units, features and terms. Your account specifications take precedence over examples in this guide.
