I've got a TradeStations futures account, but haven't traded it yet. I'm primarily looking to day trade or even scalp. What firm do you use and you "like" them? (It seems like IB is the most popular around here.) Thanks
People like IB cause they are the cheapest for small accounts, and you can trade a wide variety of stuff from a single account. I have found the support to be adequate, but not excellent. My biggest grip is their trade platform. Its pretty weak compared to X Trader or Ffast Trade's platform, but then again, its free. Jay
You will never be able to scalp successfully with the current Tradestation Platform. It takes way too long to set up orders. Every time you submit an order you have to re-enter information in several fields to place your next order. It is OK for swing trading, but it would never work for scalping. Hopefully the Tradestation 7 platform will be much better. I like IB's platform a lot. It is very quick, especially if you set up hot keys. J-trader is offered by several brokers and also is a nice platform that is very quick. Ffasttrade and Trading Technologies X-trader are supposed to be excellent from what I have heard, but those have monthly software fees that only make sense for traders doing higher volume.
Weak? You can use the hotkeys to get a bracket order off very fast. The TWS interface which people really use is the hotkeys, not the graphical mouse interface.
I think this current version of J-Trader is not very good for scalping as well. I know they will come out (soon) with a new version that has hotkeys so perhaps this will be good. For now, The fastest way to trade using the J-Trader is from the DOME screen, but it sometimes takes almost 2 seconds (after I clicked my mouse in the field) to see the order on the screen. I don't think the problem is on my side, I use a fast computer, lots of memory, a fast internet connection and I don't have this with other platforms I use (including TWS)
I find the J-Trader program to be nothing less than excellant for scalping the ES, hotkeys are all set up 1 button "hot keys" BOOM I'm in/out ...very easy and an excellant platform...just my .02 cents. J-
Can you place bracket orders on actual fills? No! Each leg can get hit before the trade you really want! Can you change volume on the fly? No! Pro trade platforms like X Trader, or Ffast trade's platform, HAVE buttons where you can manage size as you go without going through a ton of crap. If you think IB is pro, you are just starting out. Good luck to you. Jay
Jay, Take a deeper look into TWS, Anything you say cannot be done, CAN BE DONE.... And fast (Hotkeys)
Jay, To each his own but I'll add that some of the largest institutions in the world are using the TWS to trade. They naturally have the choice of using any platform they desire and for one reason or another prefer to use IB. If there is specific functionality you'd like to see, send me a PM and I'll make a request. The platform has come a long way and there is no intention to stop adding new functionality.