The idiots on this site don't understand that. It's friggin logic and they just want to shovel it under the rug I guess.
This is the only thing I worry about. I run 2 opposing software's side by side and 90% of the time they're damn close. However I don't trade 24/7 like some of the addicts do. In addition, like someone else on here said. The best way to get past any of these buckets (if you're having problems) is to spread it across multiple accounts. Livermore killed the buckets for crying out loud. This site is filled with babies.
The best thing you can do in this business (if you are just starting out) is to learn how to trade consistently in the black at a high level of precision to a specified target or target area AND learn how NOT to use STOPS to your disadvantage by learning how to use market support and resistance as your de'facto/surrogate "stop." That takes a lot of hard work through primary research and most don't, won't or can't engage that level of research given the massive time it takes to learn how to do it correctly, on a consistent basis. However, if you do have the, energy, patience, focus, determination, will to succeed and time available, then you can reach this level of trading acuity. After that, you will find that the only third-party (transaction party) concerns you will have for the most part (with some exceptions, of course) will be the balance sheets and regulatory requirements for the segregation and protection of your funds - period. The rest is fairly mechanical and ALL retail currency market third-party entities will operate primarily within the same operational envelope by design and by regulation. At some point however, if you are truly successful in this business, you will grow beyond the "retail" level of trading and enter a different world of currency trading: Institutional. You will be moving Yards instead of Lots and the typical $25,000,000 to $50,000,000 Notational Value (Notional to some - not me) will no longer be large enough to keep pace with what you are capable of doing in the markets day-in and week-out. So, you will need the back-office of a third-party who can transact at higher size levels and that cannot (will not) ever be found with a mere "broker." You will need the back-office of a real bank and preferably one that is standard interbank player already. This will get you the lower spreads (fractional in most cases) and the true transaction back-to-back off-setting that you are looking for right now, but cannot get at the retail level. This gets your trades into the market faster and it allows you to trade at true interbank rates, instead of those calculated by the rate generation algorithms of dealing desk manipulators at the retail level. As far as pure "brokers" are concerned - they are all virtually the same from a purely mechanical/operational standpoint. It is a revenue generating business to them and YOU are their customer from which they derive their revenue. Their revenue model is predicated on your ignorance, apathy and lack of education about what they do and how they do it. Rather than getting into the all too typical "Broker Name War" that all threads like this eventually deteriorate into, where one claims that all brokers excepting his own, are bogus "bucket shops" or bogus "prop shops," I thought I would answer your question by informing you why in the long run, none of that matters relative to your ability to trade at a high level of target acuity and proper stop management using the market, instead of easily hunted entry orders. Honesty in a broker? LOL, the real question is can your level of trading make the broker honest? Your trading can force honesty. In other words, if you are trading correctly, then your broker can touch you. Untouchable trading? LOL, yes. That should be the goal of everyone in this business. If your stops are being taken out consistently and it is driving you crazy, then YOU have to be the one to ask WHY and make the necessary changes to the way you trade such that stoppages are no longer the problem they used to be. Once you do that, is your broker still responsible for "hunting your stops?" Of course, not - problem solved. Tight spreads? LOL, if you are trading correctly then even a 5 pip spread won't matter in the long run, so most certainly a 1, 2 or 3.5 spread should not matter. If one is trading that close to the limit of market behavior, such that a 5 pip spread makes or breaks their trade, then they are NOT trading correctly and they desperately need to make some adjustments in the way they do things in this business. After you make the proper adjustments to your Entry locations, will your broker still be responsible for hitting you with high spreads? Of course, not - problem solved. So, it all comes down to YOU - the trader..... in the long run AND in the short run. Now, if a broker flat out fails to honor your Limit Order or under-shoots your Stop Order (either from the top or from the bottom) then you have a case against that broker. You can monitor this by ALWAYS using more than one data feed to confirm the average price location at any time in the market. If you spot price spikes with one broker that don't show-up in your other data-feeds, then you have a case against your broker. Otherwise, learn the business of identifying trade worthy market data, first. Most all other "retail" level problems will work themselves out from that point forward and you will be a lot less concerned with broker manipulation at the retail level. After you've grown out of the retail domain, get set-up with a real bank and start trading a real institutional platform, most likely under a Corporation, LLC, LLP or Trust, that you set-up for such business purposes. Education - Focus - Strategy - Execution - Commitment - Vision. These are the things that will make retail broker concerns melt away in time.