I likewise don't understand this about the specialist. When I watch a level ll screen(of NYSE stocks) I see the size on both bid and ask, as well as the market, whether NYSE,OTC,CINC,CHGO etc.
watch inordinate size.. that's to scare people.. just like inca on nas.you have to know the specialist... like when mo shows multiples of 10k, then it will go the other way.. etc
I started scalping on the NYSE late last year and thought I had discovered a gold mine. Working in stable stocks I could trade 2000 shares round trip for a tenie 3 to 6 times a day with almost 100% success. That is $300 - $600 a day (using DATEK Online at $10/ticket) for 4-5 hrs. work -- not bad as a retirement supplement. Then 28 Jan. came decimalization! Spreads shrank to $.01-.02 and trading volume on my stocks dropped ???? 50% - 60%. I've increased my trades to 5000 shares (fishing for $.02 - .03 on a round trip) and can't reliably make $150/day. The Specialists seem to have declared war on Scalpers and walk all over me. If I see a $.04 spread trading on the bid, I bid $.01 higher (price improvement for a mandatory fill) and the Specialist joins me and then steps in front of me preventing my trade. Or worse still, he gives me 100 shares before stepping in front of me. They seem to have scrapped the old rules and have none for the new decimal environment. I think I see a pattern of walking the new $.01 spread around inside the old $.08 -$.10 range and moving a long or short position from one end to the other. However, unless I see him get hit hard on one end, guessing his holdings and tolerance seems very risky. Any ideas?
you need a new strategy.. this is one of the main reasons that they changed to decimals.. no offense, but you guys are annoying by trying to get ahead by .01. I don't trade the stable ones as much, so i don't really care, but basically, i just use market, and get out whenever.. you guys are decent at least b/c you save me 2 cents or so a share when i get out market. Your old strategy is dead im afraid to say. Maybe you can try it on the nas.. i know people who just swing 5k-10k at a time on stuff like cmgi and do decently.