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Here is the page that documents the VOL order type: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/?f=%2Fen%2Ftrading%2Forders%2Fvol.php It says that you have to enable volatility trading to get it to work, and I don't know how to do that. When you create a volatility tab, it simply displays implied...

I haven't looked at Volatility Trader yet, but you are correct that you have market risk with a straight option short. The usual way to trade volatility is with options combinations such as straddle, strangle, verticals, etc. The purest form uses the straddle (i.e. short a call and a put with...

The cancellation fee for equity options is $0.01 per order, not per contract. Unless you're doing HFT, it's not a significant hit. I traded SPX options about 10 years ago, and the cancellation fee then was $0.10 per contract. I don't know about now.

I don't know of specific platforms that do everything you want, but there is a lot of software for IB on the market. You might have a look at NinjaTrader, which is user-programmable. One of the reasons IB is so popular is that they have a free API that can be programmed to do whatever you want.

@op: You might try Marketplace@IB (https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/?f=%2Fen%2Fgeneral%2Fpoll%2Fibconsultants.php%3Fprogid%3D11%26amp%3Bib_entity%3Dllc). As others have mentioned, programming for hire is not "easy money".

Another idea: Have you considered possible intermittent failure of your DSL modem or router? I was having trouble with my router, and I bought the Medialink from Amazon. That fixed the problem.

I don't know what IB's clearing arrangement is. But I believe their size and reputation are a big advantage. Peterffy has a lot of wealth tied up in IB, and he is not about to do anything stupid with the company (unlike Wassendorf). Any gains you have in futures are credited daily. If you...

I'm out of ideas. Good luck! Regarding changing gateways, I think IB tech support has to do that for you. If you have a reason to be on the US gateway, you should probably stay there. I agree that DEF has been helpful. Some of IB's people are very good, and some no so. I always try to...

Is your Internet connection via coaxial cable perchance? What you describe is typical of coax. I have Comcast cable, and I frequently get interruptions lasting from less than a second to several seconds. Coaxial cable is susceptible to interference (that's why it's coaxial). If so, your best...

@gmst: I see those alerts quite often, but not in the case I mentioned. I was displaying a grid of option prices on SPY, one of the most liquid markets. The OTM option prices were changing, but not the ATM prices which I was looking to trade. I called IB support and confirmed my prices were...

I had a situation recently whereby some quotes stopped updating while other continued. I have been an IB customer for 11 years, and this is the first time I noticed this. I use my own app via the API, but the TWS was also showing the problem. I stopped and restarted the TWS, and everything...

You're probably thinking of cash forex. With forex, there is no organized/regulated exchange, and the broker is the counterparty. IB and a few other brokers lay off the risk at a trading venue such as Idealpro, so they don't lose when you win. That's much better for you (and for them). IB...

In the image it says "Lower is better", but I question whether that is always true. Certainly if you're system is low on usable memory, that would be true. But if you have plenty of memory available (I have 12gb), using as much as possible would seem best for speeding things up. No? I have...

Are you aware that there is a single transaction type that has both price and size? Check out RTVolume.

I had never heard of Waterfox, and I just downloaded and installed it. So far, I am impressed!

I had a similar experience about 4 years ago, except that I had two harddrives rather than two partitions. I wanted to install Linux on the second drive without making any changes to the first. I thought that was harder than it needed to be, but I got it working. The bottomline for me was...

Trader status is determined on a case-by-case basis, and there is no safe harbor. Your situation would seem to qualify, but it could be challenged for any number or reasons. If challenged, you would have to fight the IRS or risk paying additional taxes and penalties and losing your...

I haven't used the FIX implementation. Messages received through the API (and likely through FIX as well) are necessarily serial. Two or more events can happen very close together, and their reporting sequence is usually undefined (or should be). I think you're going to have to introduce a...

Do you mean that the exec message appears ahead of the status message in the socket, or is there a delay between the two? How long a delay? The status, execution, and portfolio updates should all happen at about the same time. But time here is wall-clock time, not milliseconds. If you're...

I have been trading SPY options for about a month now, and the highest per contract I have seen so far is 1.22. I believe the equity option market has gotten so fragmented (like stocks) that we have to use Smart routing to get adequate liquidity. If you can, try posting bids or offers to...