Smart Live Markets - Spread Bet on MT4

I think you hit the nail on the head if you've got a big account then use a professional broker there's no point in workng your way through a pile of SB providers to say the world is stacked against you because the odds to be honest are skewed on any account where you're trading small lot sizes. From my experiences with SB from 2005 onwards it took a while to realise that pointing and clicking on trades were never consistent actual prices and quotes were frequently different to what you got filled at. Another favourite trick is to quote min stops of say 20 pips for a market but at key levels it would change to 100 pips. Using pending orders at key levels in advance got around a lot of the tricks they used. Another point is that I think you're wasting your life away sitting there staring at screens, looking at this indie, drawing this line or that line that might be support or resistance. The amount of TA books I've read would fill the local library and they're all crap in my opinion, some less than others.
 
It probably depends on how you use the platform I guess though Francis but I've always been a pending order man because of the systems I use. what I have noticed is when I manually close trades i get 'invalid price' or words to that affect on occaisions then have to repeat the process. Most stuff I do goes on behind the scenes so I just check that the reports I get from my software tally up with the detailed account report from MT4. If they don't match then something underhand is going on like spreads increasing once near stops or take profit levels.

I use orders on SLM also for both entry and exit. I never use the instant execution yet this week have been slipped on entry by 4.5 points twice on EUR/USD which SLM quote to 5dp and it was normal trading (No news, about 12 points movement per 5 min bar). That is unacceptable in my opinion. I dont think they are doing it deliberately but they clearly have major problems with the platform. So i would also say at the moment to be careful.
 
gotta add my tenpenneth here.

if you have an EA that works you wont be using it for spreadbetting imo. you'd be with a decent broker.

spreadbetting is just gambling. it is what it says on the tin im afraid.

there are a very select few that beg to differ but they know what i mean.

all i want is for my order to open fill instantly, to close instantly and at the price i f*cking set. THAT is not wrong or a wayward expectation but these cu*ts would have you believe it is and the hype and bull**** eminating from some of the forum dwellers is a joke.

you try and do / get that spreadbetting. near enough impossible.

best experience ive had is dealingdesk (london capital i believe) tradefair are not too bad either.

ive tried

igindex - hate the platform.... spread needs to be lower...
iii (using cityindex) - changed to someone else now i believe.... was pants.
finspreads - ****e
Capitalspreads - awful
ETX - ok but spread to high
ODL - awful if you make profit!
tradefair - ok
Dealing Desk - best experience
CMC Markets - worst experience

as a side note dealingdesk started off well but they all get victims of success and started to tighten up..

if you do spreadbet just remember its a casino not the real thing.
Hi FF and all,

I have live accounts with most SB firms. Looking to open an account with SLM soon and try out.

You mention Dealing Desk as best experience and Capital Spreads as worst, But Dealing Desk is white label of CS, so wouldnt they both be good or bad as opposed to opposite ends considering they are the same outfit?

Regarding re-quotes, slippage etc... Wouldnt using the CFDs platforms be slightly advantagous and riddle some of these problems out?
 
Hi FF and all,

I have live accounts with most SB firms. Looking to open an account with SLM soon and try out.

You mention Dealing Desk as best experience and Capital Spreads as worst, But Dealing Desk is white label of CS, so wouldnt they both be good or bad as opposed to opposite ends considering they are the same outfit?

Regarding re-quotes, slippage etc... Wouldnt using the CFDs platforms be slightly advantagous and riddle some of these problems out?

unfortunately not.

http://www.trade2win.com/boards/spread-betting/107800-spreadco-one-beat-7.html#post1384652

gle101 has more experience with SB's than me. I think he will say the same but says city is now best - they used to be awful.

the only consistent thing i do know is to test stuff yourself. personal experiences do vary as they are subjective especially where money is involved. forums are pretty much a waste of time (hence i spend all day on them when tweaking my autotrading stuff)

as for CFD's this is a spreadbetting thread. we are talking about the performance of SLM - jumping to a different way of trading instruments because someone is effectively a crook is not the answer.
 
Last edited:
OK, I am getting really pissed off with SLM now. I have just entered an order that was executed 3 points early. WTF is the point of entering an order if SLM are going to fill it at whatever price they want. The order should never have been filled as price went the other way. As it stands they filled it 3 points early and i lost the trade.

SLM Slipping entries and stops by up to 5 points. Filling orders 3 points early. What is the point?
 
SLM reps whoever posts here. I would like to see the tick chart for AUD/USD between 9:20 and 9:20 this morning please.
 
I may have to apoligise to SLM for this mornings problem. It seems the spread on this instrument is wider that the last time i traded it meaning the buy price could have hit my order price. Although the charts in this case are very misleading.
 
I may have to apoligise to SLM for this mornings problem. It seems the spread on this instrument is wider that the last time i traded it meaning the buy price could have hit my order price. Although the charts in this case are very misleading.

I don't see that the spread has changed since I downloaded the Market Information Sheet last September. :confused:
 
I don't see that the spread has changed since I downloaded the Market Information Sheet last September. :confused:

I thought the spread in this was 2, i checked and its actually 3. Either way something is not right. Either the charts bare no relation to the actual price or SLM shafted me. I am not used to seeing a big 3 point gap between the top of the bar and my order level and still find my order is filled. Even if it is the spread the charts should surely paint with the mid point between bid and ask so according to the chart i should still not have got filled.
 
I thought the spread in this was 2, i checked and its actually 3. Either way something is not right. Either the charts bare no relation to the actual price or SLM shafted me. I am not used to seeing a big 3 point gap between the top of the bar and my order level and still find my order is filled. Even if it is the spread the charts should surely paint with the mid point between bid and ask so according to the chart i should still not have got filled.

The price on the charts is the ask price...this is pretty common in my experience of MT4 brokers. The spread on AU has always been 3 from when I started using it few months ago. What was your entry order price and at what time? - can then see whether your order was filled as per the price on the charts or not.
 
If you think it's a problem on their side then why not call them. I've always found them helpful.
 
The price on the charts is the ask price...this is pretty common in my experience of MT4 brokers. The spread on AU has always been 3 from when I started using it few months ago. What was your entry order price and at what time? - can then see whether your order was filled as per the price on the charts or not.

Hello
Please note the price on all MT4 charts is the BID not the ASK.

Regards
SLM
 
I thought the spread in this was 2, i checked and its actually 3. Either way something is not right. Either the charts bare no relation to the actual price or SLM shafted me. I am not used to seeing a big 3 point gap between the top of the bar and my order level and still find my order is filled. Even if it is the spread the charts should surely paint with the mid point between bid and ask so according to the chart i should still not have got filled.

Mata Nui,

This isn't the issue you are making it out to be. If the spread is BID 1.5000 / ASK 1.5003 the price you see on an MT4 chart is the BID 1.5000 if you are going long you would get filled at the ASK price 1.5003 so when the chart price (BID PRICE) is at 1.5000 you would be filled..... WHY ARE YOU COMPLAINING?
 
It would be better if we got valid complaints where they contacted Smartlivefirst then told us the outcome, problem is we're getting alot of posts about spreads that are typical when trading small lot sizes. Also confusion about the similar issues quoting pip sizes for a 5 digit broker when a pip is actually 0.0001 for a 4 digit broker, which = 0.00010 for a 5 digit broker. That isn't 10 pips it's 1 pip. Not saying Smartlivemarkets are agreat broker but we need to get the specifics to make this thread worthwhile. :)
 
It would be better if we got valid complaints where they contacted Smartlivefirst then told us the outcome, problem is we're getting alot of posts about spreads that are typical when trading small lot sizes. Also confusion about the similar issues quoting pip sizes for a 5 digit broker when a pip is actually 0.0001 for a 4 digit broker, which = 0.00010 for a 5 digit broker. That isn't 10 pips it's 1 pip. Not saying Smartlivemarkets are agreat broker but we need to get the specifics to make this thread worthwhile. :)

well who knows who anyone is on these threads easy?
 
Mata Nui,

This isn't the issue you are making it out to be. If the spread is BID 1.5000 / ASK 1.5003 the price you see on an MT4 chart is the BID 1.5000 if you are going long you would get filled at the ASK price 1.5003 so when the chart price (BID PRICE) is at 1.5000 you would be filled..... WHY ARE YOU COMPLAINING?

I am pretty sure i mentioned that i may be wrong as i didnt know what the chart displayed. I had assumed (all be it incorrectly) that the chart would show the mid price between bid and ask. Now i know it shows the bid explains why sometimes i can watch an order get executed When the chart price touches the order line and when i go the other way there is a big gap.
 
I am pretty sure i mentioned that i may be wrong as i didnt know what the chart displayed. I had assumed (all be it incorrectly) that the chart would show the mid price between bid and ask. Now i know it shows the bid explains why sometimes i can watch an order get executed When the chart price touches the order line and when i go the other way there is a big gap.

One of the reasons why people should get to grips with a demo platform first, before committing real money until they understand the platform.
 
Mata nui - you can make mt4 show the ask and bid. Right click on the chart and check the properties .
 
Top