This thread brings up one of the other questions I've had for a while.... Why isn't there a matrix of order type & destination with an indication of native or simulated? I think that would be quite useful. And perhaps some details on how the simulation works. Like I am still perplexed at how wide of a premium before a simulated synthetic call combo (buy stock, buy put) will execute. This is my latest head scratcher on smart router behavior.
I have done arbitrage successfully many times before. I am only encountering the phantom quotes recently. This brings up another question. Why are the quotes stale? I didn't pay IB or ARCA for stale quotes.
I don't know about IB -- with MBT you enter your size to buy (or sell) -- say it's 5000 shares. You also set the size to display (say 100 shares) as part of the order entry. Basically you'll see your size of 100 displayed on Level II via ARCA. As you get hit your order merely refreshes showing another 100. Then another 100 and so on until all 5000 shares are filled or until the bid (ask) moves away from your bid (ask), depending on if you were buying or selling.