Yes -- that's why I specified large players. If that wasn't communicated to you clearly by my post, I can only refer you to http://esl.com/
Didn't say you were necesarily entering opening orders, just that you entered orders, and canceled without knowing what was happening other than the system was screwed.
Maybe I should PM you first, before I post, to make sure you agree my proposed remarks are "relevant"?
I guess I should say something to end this thread. TD ameritrad contacted me. They are trying to trouble shoot the problem. So far I am very pleased with what they have done, although I need to find out whether it will work better, but really the most important to me is their attitude. Nobody, no system is perfect, but as long as they are willing to help, willing to improve, I am satisfied. Always thought TD Ameritrade has the best customer service.
I've also had generally good experiences with TD (though I concur with the contumelious gentleman who elsewhere on this thread suggested IB for most retail-level traders). Notably, TD has become much more solicitous of its larger customers -- they've always had a special "premium" service tel# (as do all TD's competitors, AFAIK) but I understand, from my most recent conversations with them, the minimum account value that allows access to this tel# is now only $100k, down from (as I recall) $1m. Also, if your account is sizable, you'll quickly be befriended by a salestrader at a local branch office, who will fix any customer-service issues ASAP, as soon as you call to tell him about them.
I think you have made the right decision. As an experienced trader, I hate having problems with my executions due to my broker. Changing brokers should not be made in the heat of a moment. But it is my worst nightmare to have change brokers and make the adjustments that would have to be made to my routine. I have traded with my main broker for over 10 years, and there have been hiccups in which I became very emotional. But thankfully, they were just hiccups and not a frequent pattern. Whether a broker is perfect or not is not the main question, the main question is as you pointed out in your original post, confidence that when you click a mouse, you know what happens next.
If you trade 35000 shares at a go, Ameritrade is better than IB commissionwise. Also as has been pointed out, the customer service (especially if you are an Apex customer) is miles better. I also experienced the same thing Thurs morning. Took a long time for my order to change from open to filled, even well after the stocks were trading above my short-sell limit.
Makes sense (unless someone is primarily trading stocks <$.10 with that size) IB's customer service sucks (actually its excellent imo, once you can finally get a hold of them, lol.) Its a bit of a trade off in that regard - IB's platform holds up better under high stress market conditions, but not their phone support. Ameritrades phone support is almost always accessible, but their platform can get strained.