Also, try the OCA feature on the TWS.. You set up a stop and a profit target, either way the other is canceled... what a beauty and a lazy trader's dream come true.
Question: While looking over the IB demo I noticed that cancellations were taking quite a bit of time to confirm. (order entry line removed) Is this typical of real time also or is it just the demo? When you cancel an order how long does it usually take to confirm? Thanks, Bouncer
Cancel is almost instant if your order was sitting on an ECN, for MMs and NYSE orders it take a bit longer. Once you see the color turn red, the order IS canceled at the exchange, it takes few more seconds for the TWS to take it off the IB server.
To anyone getting acquainted with IB, I highly recommend this supplemental tutorial on IB: http://www.enthios.com/trading/interactive_brokers.htm
I am a relatively new IB user. I had been most dismayed at what seemed to be the "clunkiness" of their software. But those commissions...! So I pressed on. The other day, just after the market opened, I loaded up with a bunch of CSCO and watched it head due north. Yippee! After a minute or so, I went to dump the CSCO, and something (was it the software?--I'll never know for sure) locked up. Long story short, I had to completely reboot, and then I logged onto the IB site directly instead of through my downloaded Java applet on my desktop. What a M____F____ing difference! The website orders were INSTANT! Instead enduring the agonizing clunkiness that I had come to accept, I was suddenly the world of lightining speed. By the way, the gods smiled on me, and my CSCO didn't go down, and I made my 0.20. :0) Ths was a couple of days ago, and I have yet to have IB be anything be very zippy, since. *********** Blackjack
blackjack. Are you saying you logged on to IB thru a browser (eg. IE) instead of using the installed desktop application? If so, you found the browser version speedier??
I'm not sure of my terminology, so I will simply explain what I did in my own words: 1) At first, I had been using the IB trading software that one can download to one's computer from the IB site. This is the IB software that limits you in that you can only use it on the site that you downloaded it to. This is different than the software IB offers on their website, that that accessible is from any sufficiently-strong online PC computer at any time. I had selected this download-to-my-desktop alternative because I had heard bad stories about "browser-based software." 2) I have never had smooth, good, fast and consistent results with the IB software I downloaded to my computer. I have reinstalled it. I have rebooted the machine many times over the weeks. i have cleaned out the caches. I have deleted unecessary programs. I have used Norton Utilities. I used MemTurbo, which cleans up memory leaks. despite all of these measures, I would still get terribly-delayed executions; screen freeze-ups; the frequent inability to access account data; and generally clunky execution. I evne wrote IB about my problems, and they hadn't a solution (or have not yet provided one). They did seem genuinely concerned. I am running an AMD 800mHz with 256K RAM and a big hard drive. The culprit might be that I am running Windows ME. (I have yet to install Windows Pro 2000.) 3) Anyway, one morning my system locked up while having a big scalp in play. Long story short, I ended up logging straight onto the IB website and used the IB software through that channel. This involved the downloading of an applet of some kind, if I recall correctly; but this was diffrent from their other software, in that the software didn't remain resident on my computer. Since then, and it has only been about 2 days, IB is working the way I have heard it can work--VERY FAST. ******** It appears that the dirty word (actually, phrase) "browser-based software" may conjure up notions of seniding your equities orders to workers who handle your online orders in the same way that they would handle an e-mail, which they then route to a market maker. It appears quite possible that IB is not that way; it appears that somehow they somehow hook you right into Direct Access Trading through their website. ********* As I mentioned before, my technical knowledge is limited, so my explanations and discussion of this topic may be off-base at times. Bottom line: Since going through IB's website, things have been much MUCH zippier for me. Ahe same time, it has been only two trading days since I made the switch. hope this helps, blackjack
Blackjack Something is wrong with your system. I have the downloaded java version and not only are their no problems, but I copied the files onto my laptop and took it all over the country and it works fine.
InteractiveBrokers.com software sucks quite frankly. Hope they replace it soon. Also, about 50% of my limit orders don't get filled - EVEN WHEN I PLACE MY ORDER PRICE OVER THE ASK AND BID PRICE GOING LONG!!