Two orders linked together — when one fills, the other is automatically cancelled.
An OCO order is two orders bundled into one. Most commonly, it's a stop loss and a take profit on the same position. When price hits the stop, the take profit is cancelled. When price hits the take profit, the stop is cancelled. You can't end up with both orders left in the market by accident.
OCO is also used for breakout trading. You can set a buy stop above resistance AND a sell stop below support, both linked as an OCO pair. Whichever direction price breaks first, the order on that side fills and the opposite order cancels. You're guaranteed to enter in the breakout direction without having to monitor the chart.
Most modern broker platforms support OCO natively. If yours doesn't, you can simulate it manually but you have to remember to cancel the other order yourself.
A trader long Gold during the Aug 2024 carry-trade unwind set a manual stop and take profit (no OCO). The take profit hit, but the stop wasn't cancelled. When price reversed and rallied through the stop, a new short opened automatically — costing them 80 dollars in losses overnight.
Frequently asked about oco order (one-cancels-the-other)
What is an oco order (one-cancels-the-other) in trading?+
Two orders linked together — when one fills, the other is automatically cancelled.
When will I see oco order (one-cancels-the-other) used in real trading?+
On every well-managed trade. OCO is the gold standard for trade exit automation.
What is the most common mistake traders make with oco order (one-cancels-the-other)?+
Forgetting to use OCO when going to bed with an open trade. If you set a stop and a take profit as separate orders and the take profit fills, the stop is still active — and a new short position can open if price reverses through the old stop.
What do experienced traders know about oco order (one-cancels-the-other) that beginners don't?+
Always use OCO for overnight trades. The 5 seconds it takes to set up the bracket protects you from waking up to a phantom position you didn't expect.
Read the lesson here. Mark the chart on TradingView. Compare brokers with the checklist.
TradingView is the chart workspace most learners already recognize: watchlists, alerts, drawings, and clean multi-market charts. Broker research stays methodology-first: jurisdiction, costs, platform, withdrawals, and risk before any account decision.