Best trading platform for spreads

I have used cunningham trading system for 5-6 years. Has served me well, shows depth of martket, volumes traded at various levels, easily lets you access infinate spreads at once. Have only used a couple of other platforms, one didn't provide spreads, the other was limited and really didn't compare. At any one time I will have 20 flat price windows and 20 spreads in front of me.

regards, local
 
anyone using ib for spreads?? i cant see the volume for the rest of the ladder in the bid and offer, except for the current bid and offer
 
Quote from local:

I have used cunningham trading system for 5-6 years. Has served me well, shows depth of martket, volumes traded at various levels, easily lets you access infinate spreads at once. Have only used a couple of other platforms, one didn't provide spreads, the other was limited and really didn't compare. At any one time I will have 20 flat price windows and 20 spreads in front of me.

regards, local
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Thanks Local for your reply. I am familiar with CTS. I use to have an account with Cunningham. It is a decent trading platform. It is lacking in reporting open interest and being able to place simultaneous trades. But I downloaded a simulator, since it had a while since I had used it, from Dorman who white labels the CTS.

But all simulator are really useless in paper trading. You can place the best bid/offer and your trade just sits there while the market trades through it turning a small profit into a lost. If one has the best price then the simulator should give you an execution on the next tick which is worst than your price. But they do not. I have sit here tonight and watch twelve trades for 43 contracts being report as the price moves seven ticks from my best price. This could not happen on the electronic futures markets unlike the pits where several different prices are being transacted at the same time. No one knows for sure at any one moment in an active pit trading what the best price is.

Simulator trading of futures reminds me of actual securities trading. I used to sit for hours with the best price on a security and watch hundreds of trades being reported at worst prices. There is no such animal as NBBO in securities. The gullible retail traders are being sucker punched thousands of times a day as brokers trades away from the best prices. The electronic one market for futures are by far the best environment for individual traders. Unlike the simulators, the real electronic market will not let your best price be bypassed.
 
Well, you can use TT or CTS through an internet connection like broadband, which of course makes it 'online trading'. The bigger piece in terms of access to exchange-supported spread markets is the choice of clearing firms. For one firm with access to the most spread markets in my opinion it's Man Financial. New Edge would be another great choice, and I have a couple clients using them, but the new account minimum is $3M. In terms of the major Chicago FCM's, RCG and O'Brien have alot of access to certain exchanges like LME through give-up agreements. I've had several clients start out using IB, but they eventually move for more exchange access to the implied spread markets.
 
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