Thunderbolt, I don't really understand what you mean by the phrase "they just want your commissions". The firm I trade with charges almost no commissions. I trade over 250k shares a day and pay less than $100. If I was trading at Andover, or another firm that uses per share rates I would be charged $1200-$2500 for the same trades. Even if you have a breakeven day there, your're still in the hole for $2500. If I have a breakeven day I make over $600. The firm only makes money off you if you're making money. All firms should be this way. Not having your account eroded away in commissions while you are learning or experiencing bad times. P.S. I heard Nextrade does not charge any commissions.
You said,"For example, if palm is trading at .78-.79, you might bid it at 78.1 and try offering it back out at 78.5 to make a small profit and the rebate on both sides." Then the very next post you wrote,"Also erase the term liquidity trader from your vocabulary. You are a trader that uses ECN rebates to maximize your profits." YOU ARE A LIQUIDITY TRADER!!!!!!!! Your profits come from rebates. I think it's great that some people are making a very good living off this however, the majority of profits do come from adding liquidity therefore you are a liquidity trader.
My take on your situation is that you are a new trainee at Swifttrade. I would like to help you out and give you some golden advice that would help you to start kicking ass and making a G-note a day but unfortunately they have already given you all the secrets there are to this type of trading. The unfortunate truth my friend is that Swifttrade, and some other firms out there, have got so many traders trading large volume for liquidity credits that the stocks that a lot of you trade are fucked! Like every other market opportunity, the cheese attracts the rats, and the opportunities become harder to come by. Liquidity trading is becoming more difficult all the time and with the markets the way they are right now it is tough! You are competing against guys with more experience and more buying power and the expectations that are being placed on you have not been adjusted to take into account the law of diminishing returns, which is what guys who are now learning this technique are experiencing. Good luck my friend! I hope you weren't talked into this by visions of grandeur and someone telling you that this would be like 'picking money up off the street', it's not! It is possible to make a living at this, but don't compare yourself to those who got in the door before you and do be prepared for a long road ahead. I think honestly, you need to be able to survive without a 'payday' for 4-5 months.
OK, So far I have not gotten one word of advice for my present situation. I am going to ask every liquity trader again to PLEASE help me. I dont care if you think 40k is not a lot. Hey, everyone needs to start somewhere. That is what I have to work with so I have to make the best I can with it. Once again, I have 40k of trading power - I need to trade at least 250k shares a day and have no more than a $500 dollar lose that my firm pays for. Please, any trading strategy or advice to reach this goal...let me know. I hope someone out there will help out another elite member....thank you
MACD is absolutely right. This is not easy stuff anymore. If you bust your ass and constantly look for new stocks to trade you can make a good living. Some stocks can only support a few traders. Once the whole herd of NTRD, TRAC, INCA and ATTN jump on the bandwagon the stock is useless.
I stated in a previous post how I trade. Lately I've been averaging $3200 per day and gaining. I enter a position if it goes aginst me I average in and do this every 2 cents until I can flat the trade. My p-n-l is either up or dwn a little, but not much more than that. the trick is to trade like a mm.
I have never done this kind of trading. But I asked the same questions you did, because I was getting called constantly by someone who wanted me to come trade with them at Nextrade. Here is the what I posted at that time: I later posted, in the same thread: The answers seemed to be that it was indeed a very difficult way to make money. Keep in mind, I have quite a bit of trading experience, and could have skipped their "training" and had a lot more buying power than the trainees. The link to that thread if you want to read it is: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8020&highlight=liquidity