i am 100% sure sophs selling, page-14

mikey26,

that is not good and unfortunately it happens regularly now.
nobody likes a queue jumper but now the practice is just another one of the many potholes in the uneven playing field.

i understand this occurs when your order is routed through the brokers darkpool (which matches orders between clients).
so waiting patiently in line is not what it used to be.
when you see the order behind you executed first, it really makes you wonder what is the point of the queue anymore ???

i believe the nxxt type trade was introduced (by the asx) upon entry into the market by chi-x. so much for competition to the rescue.

in combination with bots, hft, shorting, naked shorting and inside trading the retail investor is really up against it.
this is the reason so many retail investors have left the playing field.
the only thing resembling an even playing field is in relation to the hft bots which apparently all have the same length fiber optic cable to the asx. nice.

often, more than half of my daily trades now show as xt or nxxt (mainly the latter) which suggests to me that my broker is playing the other side of my trades. great.

and have you tried pitting yourself against the bots in the opening or closing auction lately? they are very good at making you buy/sell at the higher/lower price.

i find trading fpo's (depending on your broker) is now a bit like trading on cfd's where the provider gives you the illusion of the official market (mkt depth looks the same) and stp (straight through processing) but when it really counts you get denied transactions, requoted (even when the fpo market has the opposing buyer or seller sitting there for all to see). with most cfd providers you are not getting access to the real market at all, you are playing on their market, against them. i acknowledge some cfd providers do claim to offer stp.

i now find that i do not always get stp from my online broker on the official market, which is most concerning. please don't ask me which broker but you can probably guess.

and JV2009 i do acknowledge what you are saying about better service (and i hope none of the above shenanigans) from the full service brokers, but the rates you quoted are a big price to pay. 2.75% on the way in and out is huge. i think i would prefer to sit in a real casino and play blackjack where the house offers 97.5% return if you play the odds.