HI AST did not mention before but thinking more on your question to add to complication of cfds & market maker model You can short nearly anything even what i would term illiquid stocks, maybe you or someone else can fill me in on asx stocks that can be shorted on the market.
Good point on cfd provider knowing everyones position Early on in my cfd trading i was stopped out when i based my stop on TA only for it to rise after almost like the cfd provider was cleaning their books i am talking less than 10 points on index's & cents on blue chips (conspiracy theory no proof) but i do not use TA stops anymore & that might answer your previous question of when they enter the market to hedge their bets.
Problem with DMA you have to wait for someone to take the opposite view, market maker you can get in and out on the push of a button ideal if positive or negative announcement made cfds are only viable as a ST trade thats were you make your money. and unless you sitting in fornt of live data (very boring) highly likely you will lose money
