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Gary,
Concerning buying at the bid, I find that when I enter a long position, if I try to buy at the bid and am successful, that means the stock is general selling off and it is likely to go down instead of up. I have likely made a mistake getting into this trade, and getting my order filled at the bid is (generally) my first clue. If anyone is willing to sell to you at the bid, you gotta wonder why.
So, I like to enter stocks with a SOES limit order or SelectNet order and buy at the "ask." If I am truly buying at the right time, no one will sell to me at the "bid" anyway and I am just wasting my time trying. The stock will quickly go up and leave me behind, still trying to buy at the bid, but NOT in the position.
Usually the difference between bid and ask is small, often less than 1/8 (maybe even 1/16), so fighting for that seems to not be worth the time and the risk of missing the play altogether.
On exiting the play, I try to estimate the top and anticipate it so that I can sell at the "ask" instead of the bid. As soon as I see any bit of selling, or a trade in-between bid and ask, I assume the momentum is dying and immediately place an offer to sell on ISLD and sell then. If I don't get hit immediately (and take that nice profit), I change my order to make it ISLD maybe 1/16 below what I already had, giving up a bit, trying to improve (lower) the ask, still trying to get out quick. If that doesn't work pretty quickly (within 15 seconds or so), I place a SOES market order and sell at the bid, or perhaps a SelectNet order 1/16 or 1/8 below the bid and get out any way I can (if stock is falling quickly). If the buying has stopped, you can believe the selling is coming and soon, and you will lose all the profit you already had.
So, if I buy at the ask and sell at the ask, I am really paying the spread one time, but not twice. Thinking you can beat the spread on both sides of the trade is, imho, a bit optimistic. It can be done, sure, but it takes excellent timing and execution skills, maybe even a bit of luck. Just a thought.
Bill
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