I'm considering opening an acct. with IB but don't like the looks of TWS. Does anyone here use button trader? I tend to scalp and wonder if useing a front end software linked to IB is a good idea or not. I don't trade futures mostly equeties and etfs. Mainly wonder if lantency is an issue and ease and funtionality are hampered useing front end software? I'm just trying to learn about getting a good setup but TWS seems clunky Any advise would be greatly appreciated
I definitely recommend using a third party software to connect to TWS so you are on the right track. Button Trader is nice software but pricey (starts at ~$40/mo for "lite" version). BracketTrader is cheap in comparison (~$100 for full usage and upgrades) and works well as an alternative. I haven't explored Button Trader as much as BracketTrader so maybe someone who has more experience with it can explain why it is worth the fees and what advantage it has over BracketTrader. There are also charting platforms like Sierra Chart (packages start at $17.50/mo) that work well with IB TWS but aren't as good for scalping but give you much more functionality with charting, lots of custom indicators and automated trading capabilities.
Using ZLT, ButtonTrader, or SC does not add anything more to latency that you will already have with IB.
I have been using ButtonTrader for a while and it's very good at overcoming shortcomings of TWS for short-term traders. The best part is the developers closely follow (quite volatile) changes in TWS API and keep the platform compatible. However, I believe ButtonTrader only supporst futures and foreign exchange. If you need different instruments (say, equities), ask ButtonTrader support from their Web-site if the platform supporst instruments you need. They replies are usually fast. Alternatively, TWS has it's own DOM, which works on most instruments and comes pretty close in terms of raw functionality.