BullFighter "Mike", My experience with RealTick and TWS has been just the opposite of what you just described. If I hit a ECN on RealTick, I often get left with part of the order filled when there were other ECNs at the price at the time the order was entered. I have RealTick up and running at all times I am trading but much prefer to enter orders via TWS and use "Smart" (has been renamed from "Best") For me, "Smart" gets the job done if there is a way to get it done. I hate to enter orders on fast moving stocks on RealTick and usually use another order routing platform to trade in that account. Catoosa
Thanks for all your replys. I know what you mean about IB, maybe I should just accept the crap customer service, it is just that there customer service has cost me a fortune in the past. I have spoken to my current broker and they have asked me what platform I want, I wonder if they will get RT for me. If they did they would probably stick up my commision. I have also heard that IB lease out there institutional platform I could also try ask for that. Any other ideas of other platform I may ask for!! Thanks again sCOUSE
Does anyone know of a third party api for IB that would function similarly to J-trader's market making function?
Take a look at the X-Trader(Trading Technologies) It is the platform the largest institutions use. You can go on the Advanced Futures website for some information. www.advancedfutures.com
Thanks Mark- I have looked at X-trader. I'd rather add a similar "market making" function (being able to simultaneously post bids and offers and adjust those orders with a click or two) to IB's TWS.
Since everyone seems to be touting what the large instutitions use as their de facto system and thus impying that their system is somehow better. I guess I should add that many of the largest banks and ibanks use the IB TWS as well.
Speed and IB. I don't trade the monster volume stocks very often, but I do trade stocks that are moving fast, bidding, cancelling, risnse and repeat. 99% of the time IB is instantaneous. I regularly do complete round trips in 2 seconds or less, with preset order lines. There have been periods where there were problems of one kind of another but they are rare. Fills using SMART are as fast as is possible (I'm on DSL) , I don't care who you are using. Claims of being faster are bogus, and display a hucksterism or ignorance of actual TWS performance.
Def- Do you know of any tws interface that would let me post simultaneous bids and offers (futures only) and simultaneously adjust my orders? I am NOT interested in using any platform other than IB's. Thanks
STOCK 777: I am curious. when you set up your preorder lines what is your default order routing set to??
I usually enter trades with an ECN and exit with SMART. It really depends on what I'm doing in the stock. For fast fills without routing hassles, SMART works well.