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Strategies & Market Trends : Trading the SPOOs with Patrick Slevin! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Matthew L. Jones who wrote (1710)	12/6/1999 8:00:00 PM
From: Patrick Slevin	Respond to of 7434

I know of one person who did just open an account there, I've directed him to your post. Just for the record, I had an account open with LW for a year one week. At least it seemed like a year. Same arrogance, lack of concern. I know Tom is okay with LW. Perhaps it was just a fluke. <(no warning on the trading platform)> Isn't that software relatively new, 6 months or so? Leo used to be like that, I'm told, but now alerts you if the connection fails. Generally speaking if I'm trading the Small I only Enter on Limits. There are days I miss entries but the way the Mini trades I find that a high percentage of time you can still get in, provided the entry price is reasonable. I think it approaches 90% of Entries, certainly better than 80%. Not as likely with the Large, but the electronic nature of the Mini seems to allow for more whipping back and forth enabling your Limit to trigger unless you are just darn unlucky. <either their desk or their platform buys me another contract > That one can't be yours, unless you sent in another at Market by mistake. Check your orders on their software. If they did it I would definitely complain. If you get no where with their Compliance Group then the last place to go, I suppose, is the NFA. Unfortunate, because that can be a pain. It did work for me, however. I finally gave up on LW and complained (to the NFA). Everything was worked out the next day. That's a last resort sort of thing, though. EDIT. Just in case, keep T&S data and if possible a copy of your fill sheet. You know that the firm will have records to the nth detail.

To: Matthew L. Jones who wrote (1710)	12/8/1999 6:08:00 PM
From: Bob Markley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7434

Matt, I'am having my own "Horror Stories" w/ PFG Best for trading the e-mini. Was lucky today and offset their error of the trading interface (they say a server was replaced) & ended the day out less then $3 on 4 trades. When "boxing" a trade, & then doing a cancel, the orders remain in the system & show up as can/pending & are then are subsequently filled, ... after they have been diligently cancelled!!! This problem they claim was first caused by a change in at the Merc. & was corrected for a week or so and reappeared again today. Have to immediately call the desk & confirm a cancel. Problem is they take alot of time manually getting the orders out of the system & meantime can be filled. What I keep asking if it takes 1-3 secs to fill an order, how come it does not take 1-3 secs to cancel??? They now claim that cancels will work tomorrow(???). Will no longer use "Stop-Limit" orders as on 3 occassions the system was not reporting the confirms. In one case it took over 20 mins and numerous calls to the desk & of course this cost me for their error. As to trade, I must know immediately if filled, & now will only use limit or market or stop orders w/ them. Only will have a confirm problem on a limit order if the swing stops right at the limit price & does not move through. Other problems, the desk cancelled a market exit order (that was my profit)& claimed the link to globex went down, then later filled my stop that was in the system (at of course, ... my loss). As any of these electronic interface things can go down at an instant, ... and PFG most certainly does, ...must immediately get the offsetting stoploss into the system on every fill, for if the system went down, one could end up in a position, "naked" without a stop. If they ever get this trading platform working properly, it will be real slick & far better then calling a desk & fighting w/ a clerk to get an order to a floor or a confirm back. Until then, I'am being real careful w/ PFG. Bob