I trade scalping style (1-5 min) with IB hot keys. I think they are wonderful. I have two questions however. 1. I cannot think of one but are there any disadvantages to using IB hotkeys? 2. Are there any "at home " traders that can state that there is another trading platform that provides faster executions? thanks
i believe www.pointdirex.com is worthy competition, without the headaches (or heartaches) of the system going down on you when you're in something. it's a little more expensive, but i'm thinking its "cheap insurance"
Larry maybe you can answer this question. I have hot keys set up with IB as well. B = Buy and S = Sell. I am very creative. But I was wondering if there is a way to set up the B to buy on the posted bid as opposed to the ask which is the default? As for disadvantages, they usually come when I just plain forget what I am doing. For instance last week I sold some options on the ask and MEANT to buy them back on the bid but without thinking sent the order to buy back at the ask. Filled before cancel. Size is also an issue, I entered 100 for a sell order instead of the 1000 I owned, oops. My default is 100 since that is what I usually buy, and most times I toggle up. Other than that, I love the way it is set up.
Just set up hot keys to: 1. Close position - automatically puts in the correct share qty of your open position. 2. Quantity (price up/price down) to quickly adjust the price you want
did you customize, or use the defaults on their hotkeys? also, do you preference ECN's or default to, say ARCA or INCA? also, when you scalp, do you keep for a time frame or a profit/loss goal? I could use whatever advise you're willing to share, or PM directly.
MBG, that is a good idea on the close position. Can you tell me though if the price will automatically post to the bid? I have keys set up for price up and down which is really ok for me. However, I often look at interday scalping and think this would be much faster. For instance, I have my S key set up to sell the position, but in most cases I try to sell at the ASK, unless I have to eject from the cockpit. Thanks
T answer some questions: I use the default keys( set by IB) but I am not a good computer person so that is why I choose this way to go. The tutorial explains how to change the settings if you choose. Also, only trade futures. no stocks. Again my limited computer skills made order routing an extra chore which i hated to do when every second counts
I'm not sure if it automatically posts to the bid/offer on close - quite frankly, I don't put much credence into IB's quotes - I use Realtick for that - so I always look at the price I'm entering. OK - just tried it - and I'm not sure if it uses last sale, or the bid price - it came up with both on several tries - maybe ask Def. As far as routing, I always use BEST - it does ok for me.