Double order created by stop right before cancel

[krpkevin]

I ran an automated strategy that just so happened to have conditions where the strategy tried to execute a reversal (sell to exit; then sell to enter a new short) just as my long was getting stopped. So I get this sequence of events:

-Enter long
-Submit market orders for two shorts, one to close the long, and one to enter the next trade
-Before step two is fully processed, Long's stop is filled (I'm guessing this is what happened. I guess I don't know for sure).
-The Close Position's order is filled, but now it's entering a new trade because there's no longer a position to close
-The short that was supposed to open this position now opens a second position. This one had no stop!

Is there a way to prevent this? Or recognize it and back out of the second position? I'm worried that if the strategy submits the order before the first position is closed, it might not realize it's entering twice. And I can't recreate the problem to test in Playback assuming it's an internet lag issue.

Thanks

[NinjaTrader_PaulH]

Hello krpkevin,

Thanks for your post and welcome to the NinjaTrader forums!

You can prevent by testing to see if you are already in a position before placing an order.

For example, as part of your entry conditions you could use:

if (Position.MarketPosition == MarketPosition.Flat && (your entry conditions...))

Reference:

https://ninjatrader.com/support/helpGuides/nt8/en-us/?position_marketposition.htm

[krpkevin]

Thanks, but I don't think that would work. The issue isn't with placing the order; it's with completing the order.

Let's ignore the entry and just focus on closing the Long. How do I close the Long position when it's about to get stopped?

The Long is open. The strategy submits a close position order, but before it gets across the internet, or whatever it's doing, the Long is stopped. Then, the close order "arrives", but there's nothing left to close, so it opens a short (since a Long close is really just a Short).

Now I'm short when I should be flat.

How do I handle this?

[NinjaTrader_PaulH]

Hello krpkevin,

Thanks for your reply.

The prevention means would be your code evaluating current price to your stop price and close conditions price and allow one or the other to operate but not both. In other words, maintain a larger price difference between where the stop exists and where the close condition is.

[krpkevin]

Yep I'm with you. That was my thought as I kept thinking about this more. Thanks for the confirmation!