One way to place your trades is to put in stop market orders the day before. This is a great way to slip 20cents at the open. The markets generally open in a flurry and a stop market order is just a market order that gets sent when the price hits a certain level. That market order goes in a queue and gets filled at whatever the ask is at the time it gets filled. I have slipped 60c on an entry with a stop market order placed for the open. Never again.

Only a limit order guarantees you a price. So, depending on your broker, you can enter a stop limit order (sends a limit order when price hits a stop level) or you can watch the open and then after 3-5 minutes when things settle down, place your orders.

Once the market opens, if the price is still below your entry – a stop order is fine – you may slip a few cents but not too much as we are dealing with liquid stocks. If the open blew past your entry, then put in a limit order to enter when the price comes back down to your entry price. If it doesn’t come back down – just pass on the trade or day trade the momentum. There will be plenty more.