Is it true that on level 2 there is a difference in the color?? when a bid is placed by a retail trader? Is there some other way of identifying who is a retail trader (e.g. with IB? Thinkorswim?)
It seems quite obvious the MM's & specialists are able to identify retail traders, so it's surprising we can't identify each other. After the trade is it possible?
What? Institution investor chose smaller size and different route all the time; you just can NOT be sure which is retail/ or not. But sometime; people can "feel" the order are likely retail. Stop wasting your time on it; Nothing is real except price action. by the way; specialist are front runner; they don't counted as real traders.
Among other factors, the MM knows which broker, the specialist somehow "knows" where are the "pressure points".
When you think maybe someone "overbid", if it's a retail trader I would be more tempted to take it out.
If you are bidding/offering on a direct access platform, choosing what ECN to use, your order on BATS/ARCA/EDGX looks exactly like mine. The specialist is a mindless computer program.