I have a great deal of experience in currency futures but minimal in spot trading. So when trading spot FX in IB, is it possible to actually be the best bid or best offer? In other words is it possible to actually execute buying on the bid or selling on the offer? I'm not asking if getting edge is likely. I'm asking if the platform works such that it's "fair."
Yes it is. Its a genuine platform. The other players may not wish to play your game but at least you know it isn't your brokers messing with your head
If you have the best bid/ask it will display in TWS. If not, you can still see your bid/ask in market depth as long as you are the best bid/ask offered by an IB client. I have gotten my orders hit by other IB clients but it's not regular and usually not of much size. But you will not be hit by any of IB's liquidity providers seeing your order. There's no central exchange for forex. IB holds your order until your limit price is matched (or bettered) by the bid/ask at one of their liquidity providers. I'm convinced it's all fair given the the numerous limit orders that I have filled with price improvement.