What is Iceberg Order?
Iceberg order displays only slice of total quantity — refreshes as fills occur.
Formula
Iceberg Order Example: Total Size: 50,000 shares Visible Size: 2,000 shares Limit Price: ₹500 Execution: 1. Order book shows 2,000 shares at ₹500 2. 2,000 shares fill 3. Order book immediately shows another 2,000 at ₹500 4. Repeat 25 times until 50,000 complete What Market Sees: Series of 2,000 share orders What's Hidden: 50,000 share total intention
Indian market context (NSE)
Reference levels: Nifty 50 at 24,300, Reliance Industries at ₹1,300, Bank Nifty futures at 55,000 (lot size 30). Examples below show how Iceberg Order shows up on Indian index, equity, and futures books — update to live quotes in your journal.
Nifty 50 perspective
Iceberg Order on Nifty futures at 24,300: verify freeze quantity and tick size on NSE; market orders in opening auction behave differently from continuous session.
Reliance Industries perspective
Iceberg Order on Reliance (₹1,300): AMO and GTT rules vary by broker; intraday MIS auto-square-off at 15:15 IST overrides resting iceberg order unless converted.
Bank Nifty futures perspective
Iceberg Order on Bank Nifty (55,000): bracket/OCO availability depends on broker stack — test fill quality on 100-point stop triggers before live size.
How to validate
- Validate Iceberg Order fills against broker contract notes monthly.
- Measure median slippage in points/₹ for Iceberg Order on Bank Nifty vs mid-caps.
- Flag sessions with abnormal rejections or partial fills for separate review.
- Compare limit vs market tags only on symbols with similar liquidity.
How to track in TradeLyser
- Record order type, limit price, fill price, and latency on the trade.
- Tag “slippage > plan” when Iceberg Order fills worse than expected.
- Monthly slippage report by symbol and order type in analytics.
- Reconcile with broker order log quarterly.
Best practices
- Choose Iceberg Order before the move, not after FOMO entry.
- Default to limits on illiquid mid-caps; markets on urgent exits only.
- Log rejected orders — they reveal unrealistic limit discipline.
- Review slippage in R-multiples, not only rupees.
Common pitfalls
- Chasing with market orders after Iceberg Order already moved.
- Using limits on fast Bank Nifty breaks without timeout rules.
- Not recording partial fills — skews performance stats.
- Assuming broker fills match intended Iceberg Order every time.
How to use this in TradeLyser
Note visible vs hidden size if your platform shows; else do not tag iceberg.
Related terms
Dark pools match large orders away from public order book to reduce market impact.
Liquidity describes depth and ease of entering/exiting at stable prices. Nifty top names differ sharply from illiquid small caps.
Market makers quote buy/sell prices to facilitate trading, earning spread and managing inventory.
Order book displays resting buy and sell quantities at each price — depth and imbalance.
FAQ
Spot iceberg on NSE?
Some brokers support — check order types.
Iceberg detection edge?
Uncertain for retail — avoid overfitting.
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