I am just wondering how do you enter a short order using TWS. What other trading platform that you can use with IB? TWS is confusing as hell. Thanks in advance.
http://individuals.interactivebrokers.com/en/general/education/priorWebinars.php?ib_entity=llc TWS is confusing as hell? IB is NOT for you. You should not use IB. TWS is used by thousands of full time traders around the World. If you see a picture of a trader with his computer screen, the chances are, you will see TWS in the background. GO... Go find another broker before you have to come back with a thread like "Got Cheated by IB", or "IB mistake cost me $50K".
Just enter an order to sell shares. Since you haven't already purchased the shares, the order will be sent out as a short order.
This is the first time I am exposed to IB. Been trading for a while using Hammer platform. TWS is not as intuitive and easy to use. Stop the flaming. Thanks for the links though.
E signal links to TWS, and others do also. You can set up TWS to make it easier and faster. Just set up the columns you need. The help section tells you how. In addition, you can set up keyboard to set enter brackets, buys, sells, cancells, transmits, etc. Makes for very fast entry. In addition to using the sell function to short, if you wish to sell 100 shares, and short 100 at the same time to reverse your play, just sell 200. In most cases you should then be out of your long and into your short for the cost of 1 trade. To cover your short, just use the buy function.
Used to do that when I was trading prop. and we got fined heavily for that. Selling long isn't the same as selling short but if IB lets you do that, that's cool.
Who would fine you? Perhaps the trade is treated as two seperate trades at IB. I think if multiple fills occur within a given time, it's charged as 1 trade. I've talked with IB in person about other issues (odd lot NYSE for example), and have been told their system will not allow illegal trades.
Actually you are doing both in this particular instance. Out of the 200 shares, 100 are sold to cancel out your previous buy and the other 100 shares are sold short. Ib does not have a specific short button unlike other brokers. So if you want to sell short just enter an order to sell. Pretty straightforward.
Take a look at ButtonTrader, one of a few vendors who provide 3rd party front ends to trade with IB. Also look at Ninja Trader.