Puffy, I'm not understanding you. Could you explain what you mean? What if I buy the 50 with a market and put in a limit for another 40 at the same price? Wouldn't that result in a 90 print? Bruce
I think PG is talking price, and you are talking size. PG is saying the market is .20 bid at .50 He did not, however, say how many contracts were bid or offered
Fun if you haven't done it before ..... But pretty far removed from reality. However if you have never been on the floor at the merc or the other large exchanges it would definitely be worth the trip. IT used to be a requirement - perhaps it still is - at the CME that new members or leasees would go through a few days of training by another member. Part of the drill was to have an after-hours mock trading session. Primarily the drill was for the new member / leasee to understand the mechanics of recording and reporting their trades: things have changed a bit today with the new electronic entry/reporting tools. The members that participated usuallt did so because they were asked to and it gave them a chance for a sneak preview of one of the new traders ..... Still, these mock trading sessions are very different from being on-floor in an active and fast market.
I used to work on the floor of the MERC when it was at Union Station by the river. While I worked at the Treasure Bill pit and had a smelly yellow jacket on everyday, I have never been in the new MERC, and I have never actually had the opportunity to trade face to face with another trader. Being in a fast market and being in a pit is one of the coolest experiences... nitro
The new merc is a lot nicer than the old merc - no comparison. It was a big deal when we moved over to the first tower. Since I left working on the floor of the merc to start my own ventures I have been back several times to visit. The addition of the new electronics in the pits and the more stringent compliance have changed things a bit - still if you trade on floor it seems to me that things are not radically different ..... Of course when I started at the merc we used chalk boards to display and record the trades ...... Fortunately that system was soon gone ...
or if you want something a little more hardcore: www.realtimefutures.com (Ben will quote you every single detail from the pit.)