The one thing which stands out most about today is the reminder of how slow to fill are orders placed at or near the open. My first paper-trade was a buy eleven minutes after the open and the trade price was approx 27.28 when I clicked and by the time the order filled, the fill price was 27.382. Ouch... there's some slippage fer ye! Still, a gain is a gain is a gain. For the most part, my reads were correct but just slightly early or slightly late on some occasions. Not bad overall. One trade at the end averaging for a better price.
bluecollar,
ReplyDeletehow are you daytrading with the IB platform. are you using the booktrader? i am thinking about switching over to IB because you can trade in odd lots. lightspeed will not let me do this. my only hesitation, is that the platform is java based and seems kind of slow. any thoughts?
Joshua,
ReplyDeleteI use the Trader Work Station (TWS) in IB to trade. IB has been great for me but on the other hand, I have never traded with any other Direct Access Broker. I do find that they are all performance and very little luxury, as many others would attest to. The charts absolutely suck. They have no scrolling HOD/LOD screener. And I'm sure there are other niceties that they lack if you look into it. But, they sure do perform and at a very aggressive cost-structure. I have never had a slow execution, other than at the open when things are crazy anyway. If you have the cash, open an account with them as a secondary broker and try their simulated trading account.
okay, thanks. like you i use quote tracker for the charts and trade ideas for my hod/lod plus all my scans. all i need is a platform that will allow me to trade odd lots. so, with the TWS, you use mouse clicks to buy and sell or are you using hot keys? i was thinking about opening the account to give it a try. maybe i will go forward with it. it can't hurt. the one thing i love with lightspeed is that the charts will post my entries and exits. that really helps in reviewing my trades. i will have to find out if they have this feature.
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ReplyDeleteIt is unlikely they have any features you know and like. I have the one-click of a mouse set to trade 1000 shares buy and another to sell 1000. Then, I have another one-click to exit the entire position if I choose. Simple and fast.
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