Slippage

Slippage is what happens when the market moves between the time you click and the time your order fills. Click buy at 1.0950, get filled at 1.0952 — that's 2 pips of slippage against you. It's the gap between intent and reality, and it's almost always negative because market makers route orders in the broker's favor. Slippage is biggest on market orders during high volatility (NFP, FOMC, breaking headlines) and on illiquid pairs at quiet times. Limit orders don't slip on the entry price (they either fill at your level or don't fill at all), but they can slip on the EXIT if your stop loss is a market stop. Good brokers offer "guaranteed stops" for a fee — your stop fills at exactly the price you set, no slippage. Most retail traders skip this because the fee feels expensive, but during news it can save you from a 50-pip slip on a 20-pip stop.