We'll use Schwab as an example here. Say I buy 100 shares of XYZ @ $50.00 a share. I put in the price for $50. Bid/ask $49.97/$50.02 Did Schwab (internally) have a seller at $50.00 at the time to become the MM? Did Schwab own that 100 shares and just sold it to me?? How quickly did my offer go from Schwab's preferred MM then to other MMs? In less than a second, if there is no match, will it go to other MM's out there?? Still trying to figure out when the order spreads to other MMs. In options would it be the same way?? And just a quickly? I think Schwab and Fidelity give me pat answers, but not the full story. Thanks for any solid info...