Getting Good Fills

[TDM]

Hey Everyone,

 

I'm considering the move to IB, but I already have a broker that I like through Fidelity (I negotiated commission on par with IB with the possibility of going lower later). I've been having some trouble getting fills, but I'm not sure if that's because I'm a new trader or because IB's fills are noticeable better. Those of you with IB, how close to the mid are you typically filled? I find I usually (but not always) need to give up around 2c from the mid to get filled. The exception is liquid or volatile spreads, like TSLA or NFLX, where I can usually get close to mid fills (or the mid jumps down a few cents and so I get filled at what was recently the mid).

 

 

If you are filled at the mid, do you have any tricks that help?

[Optrader]

Number 1 trick is to be patience. Sometimes even in days. 

[4REAL]

sometimes even weeks, 

from the Jan GOOG trade  I remember that Kim opened early (4 weeks before earnings)

I had a limit set that was lower than the official entry

my limit was triggered 4 days before earnings

so 3 1/2 weeks later

Edited May 5, 2015 by 4REAL

[deftone]

sometimes even weeks, 

from the Jan GOOG trade  I remember that Kim opened early (4 weeks before earnings)

I had a limit set that was lower than the official entry

my limit was triggered 4 days before earnings

so 3 1/2 weeks later

 

 

that's awesome.  goes to show the people complaining about fills are just complainers.

[Kim]

There are dozens of examples when members got better results than me, with some patience. Here are some from the last cycle:

 

BABA - https://steadyoptions.com/forum/topic/2592-discussion-baba-may-2015-trade/:I paid 1.29, many members got it for 1.20 few hours later.

LNKD - https://steadyoptions.com/forum/topic/2560-discussion-lnkd-may-2015-trade/:I paid 2.60, many members got it for 2.40 AND exited at better prices than the official exit.

FB - https://steadyoptions.com/forum/topic/2559-discussion-fb-april-2015-trade/:I paid 1.10, many members got it at 1.00-1.05.

 

Those are just few examples, there are a lot more.

[TDM]

I understand that it's possible to get better fills than you--I actually did it myself on a couple of those trades. I've got absolutely zero complaints about SO--I love the service and have made more money than I should have by now as a new trader

 

I'm trying to understand what role a broker plays in slippage, and more specifically how close to the mid people typically get filled. Do you usually get filled at the mid on these spreads (whether or not the mid is the same as the official price)? If not, how much slippage do you usually have? 

[Kim]

Broker is very important. Based on members feedback and my own experience, IB has one of the best if not THE best executions. I recommend reading Brokers and Commissions discussion if you haven't done it yet.

 

How close to the mid you get filled really depends on the stock. Some stocks you can get within 1-2 cents from the mid, others are harder. Also remember that 1 cent slippage on $1 options is not the same as 1 cent slippage on $2 option. "playing" with orders helps many times (pausing the order and resubmitting, changing by 1-2 cents etc. It's a process that takes time to master, and over time you will get better on it.