Time-in-force is not a minor order setting. It decides whether your order rests, trades immediately or disappears.<\/p>\n
Three limit orders can use the same price and size, yet behave completely differently.<\/p>\n
The difference is time-in-force.<\/p>\n
Good-til-cancelled, immediate-or-cancel and post-only instructions tell the venue what to do when the order reaches the book. They answer three different questions:<\/p>\n
Should this order\u00a0wait?Should it trade now and cancel the\u00a0rest?Should it add liquidity only?<\/p>\n
Choosing one is part of the execution decision, not a technical afterthought.<\/p>\n
A good-til-cancelled order stays active until it fills or you cancel\u00a0it.<\/p>\n
Use GTC when the price matters and you are willing to wait for the market to come to you. If part of the order fills, the remaining quantity can continue\u00a0resting.<\/p>\n
Example:<\/p>\n
You place a GTC buy for 10 units at $100 while the best ask is $101. The order joins the bid side at $100. If sellers later trade 4 units against it, 6 units remain\u00a0open.<\/p>\n
GTC is useful for patient execution. Its main risk is forgetting that the remaining order is still active after your market view\u00a0changes.<\/p>\n
An immediate-or-cancel order tries to execute immediately. Any quantity that cannot fill at the allowed price is cancelled.<\/p>\n
Use IOC when you care about the liquidity available now and do not want a remainder resting in the\u00a0book.<\/p>\n
Example:<\/p>\n
You send an IOC buy for 10 units with a $101 limit. Only 6 units are available at $101 or better. Those 6 can fill, while the other 4\u00a0cancel.<\/p>\n
IOC does not mean all or nothing. It can produce a partial\u00a0fill.<\/p>\n
That detail matters when calculating the position you actually hold after the order\u00a0returns.<\/p>\n
Post-only is called ALO, or add liquidity only, in Hyperliquid\u2019s documentation.<\/p>\n
The instruction prevents the order from immediately crossing the book. If the order would trade as soon as it arrives, the venue cancels it\u00a0instead.<\/p>\n
Use post-only when your intention is to rest as a maker. It is not the right choice when immediate execution matters\u00a0more.<\/p>\n
Example:<\/p>\n
The best ask is $101. A post-only buy at $101 would trade immediately, so it cancels. A post-only buy at $100.90 can rest if it does not cross the current\u00a0ask.<\/p>\n
Post-only protects the order\u2019s role. It does not protect you from the market moving away while the order\u00a0waits.<\/p>\n
Suppose the best ask is $101, with 6 units available.<\/p>\n
You want to buy 10 units with a $101\u00a0limit.<\/p>\n
GTC:<\/strong> 6 can fill now and 4 can remain open at\u00a0$101.<\/p>\n IOC:<\/strong> 6 can fill now and 4\u00a0cancel.<\/p>\n Post-only:<\/strong> the order cancels because it would take liquidity immediately.<\/p>\n The chosen price is identical. The result is\u00a0not.<\/p>\n Start with the job you need the order to\u00a0do.<\/p>\n Choose GTC<\/strong>\u00a0when:<\/p>\n the price matters more than immediate completionyou are comfortable monitoring an open remainderthe order may wait through changing conditions<\/p>\n Choose IOC<\/strong>\u00a0when:<\/p>\n you want the quantity available nowyou do not want leftover size\u00a0restinga partial fill is acceptable<\/p>\n Choose post-only<\/strong> when:<\/p>\n you want to add liquidity rather than cross the\u00a0spreadcancellation is better than an immediate taker\u00a0fillyou are prepared for the order never to\u00a0execute<\/p>\n After submission, inspect the actual order status and\u00a0fills.<\/p>\n A trader may intend to buy 10 units but end up with 6 after IOC. A post-only order may cancel before entering the book. A GTC order may remain active after the first partial\u00a0fill.<\/p>\n Your account state reflects the executed result, not the original sentence in your\u00a0head.<\/p>\n In Fensory, review the order type, time-in-force and live book before submitting. Afterward, check the open order and fill records before making the next decision.<\/p>\n Review the available order\u00a0controls<\/a><\/p>\n Trading involves risk, including the loss of funds. This article is educational and is not financial advice.<\/p>\n Hyperliquid order\u00a0types<\/a>Hyperliquid order book documentation<\/a>Hyperliquid information endpoint<\/a><\/p>\n Post-only, IOC and GTC solve different problems<\/a> was originally published in Coinmonks<\/a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Time-in-force is not a minor order setting. It decides whether your order rests, trades immediately or disappears. Three limit orders can use the same price and size, yet behave completely differently. The difference is time-in-force. Good-til-cancelled, immediate-or-cancel and post-only instructions tell the venue what to do when the order reaches the book. They answer three […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":250579,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250578"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=250578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/250579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=250578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=250578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=250578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}A practical decision\u00a0rule<\/h3>\n
Verify the outcome, not the intention<\/h3>\n
Sources<\/h3>\n