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I came across this thread and learned of a new resource that I hadn't heard of before - the SEC 606 report. Brokers are required to publish this report, which explains their execution practices and statistics. Reading the thread and looking at this report for each broker may remove some of the mystery around why some brokers seem to have better fills than others. The upshot validates much of what has been discussed here many times ... IB seems to route to the most locations and seems to have a better routing algorithm in most cases, resulting in better overall fills. TOS also seems to have a fairly good system, although maybe not quite as good from an execution perspective as IB. Of course, many folks love TOS's analytical capabilities. I'm curious if anyone feels strongly that any other broker besides IB and TOS has similar or better execution quality. My impression is that when it comes to execution quality (which is a huge part of overall trading success) there isn't really anyone else in the retail space who consistently performs at the same level as these two. I personally use IB for trading and TOS for analytics. IB just gives you so much flexibility in terms of products (e.g. fx and futures), the execution is great and the commissions are among the best. On the downside, which can be a shock to new traders who expect the "retail packaging", the interface is klunky, customer service isn't that great, the commission savings are "lumpy" (due to pass thru fees), and data fees can eat away at your account if you're not very active. I think all of these downsides can be a bit overwhelming for new traders - that's why TOS may be a great option for those just starting out. You can get the $1.50 rate negotiated by Kim (no ticket fee) and learn the ropes at a very attractive commission rate (for a small / new account) without all of the headaches associated with IB. Then, once the all important trading aspects are second nature, you can switch to IB and realize better fills & commissions while learning how to manage all of baggage that comes along with IB. Just my 2 cents... Here's a link to IB's recent SEC 606 report if you're interested: http://www.interactivebrokers.com/download/1Q_2013_IB_ORDER_ROUTING_REPORT.pdf

another thing to consider is that AAPL will be paying a dividend sometime in mid-August. the stock saw a nice run-up leading up to the ex-dividend date last cycle. these calls might be worth holding onto for a while, barring a strong correction in the overall markets. consider also that IV for these calls is still ~27%...at this point, there does not seem to be a high risk for a vol crush after earnings are reported.