The question you should be asking is: "can I beat these guys?" Millions invested in ECN's and software... https://markets.cboe.com/us/equities/listings/trade_on_cboe/lmm/
Why is everyone assuming he needs to re-price often? Maybe he only needs to reprice if the underlying moves 1%? I didn't see anything in OP to indicate he needs to reprice quickly and often.
If he does NOT move tic-for-tic with the underlying - he will get relentlessly picked off by the market makers. Flipped and bled dry. Furthermore, if he cannot re-price at the same ECN pace as the market makers - he will get relentlessly picked off by said market makers. Flipped and bled dry. If he plans on bidding and offering well wide of the market makers - he will never get a fill.
Asking a follow up question to this thread - is there a broker or software that can update your Buy/Sell order for an option strike to mid-spread point at the time when the underlying price reaches a predetermined level? Just an Example: - SPY currently trading at 282.50 - Enter Buy to Open Put option for 285 Put for May - Order Opens at the mid-spread price of the 285 May Put when SPY hits 290 - Cancel order if SPY does not reach 290 by a specified date Reason for this is both for trading and hedging positions, but to open orders during analysis phase without needing to know all the greeks and volatility at the time of execution because the purpose is to enter the option at a decent price when the underlying reaches a specified level. Welcome any info - would be awesome if this exists beyond MMs, algos, and institutional software.
Since “The Greeks”, notably gamma,theta,delta, and vega quite literally comprise option premium - how does ignoring them allow you to enter “at a decent price”? How will getting a worse fill than what MM’s are bidding and offering help you out ? Unless you have a very specific opinion on SPY direction - and in that case you don’t need specialized software for that.
I understand the pricing of options in the moment, what is not possible is predicting the pricing of that specific option when SPY reaches a specific level when it may be a few days or more before it gets there. I follow ES Futures to derive trades elsewhere and trade them as well, but for example when I have very specific ranges defined for a potential Demand or Supply zone on a larger time frame - I'm not looking to day or swing trade but for a longer time horizon. So when volatility expands and price is moving quickly, the goal is simply to have the options order execute at the predetermined level in price of the underlying. It's not about ignoring greeks. I recognize their importance and that MMs are basically managing a portfolio of greeks. "A decent price" for me is relative to where I'm entering for the underlying and the time frame I'm looking at for being in the trade. I'm simply asking if the software / broker capability exists. Appreciate any feedback.