• Failure of the broker's server
• Failure of the broker's internet connection
• Failure of the broker's software
• Failure of any of the dozen or more routers between you and your broker
• Failure of your internet provider
• Failure of your internal network hardware or software
• Failure of your router
• Physical cut of any of your wiring
• Failure of your hardware or software
• Power Failure

• A flashlight
• A battery backup system (UPS) to run your computer during a power outage.
• A Post-it note or other papers that includes your broker's trading desk phone number, your account numbers, your passwords.
• A cell phone. You can put your broker's phone number in your speed dial

You should judge your own performance and be willing to improve your setup if you need to.

Multiple monitors are a trader's best friend. Multiple computers can be handy too.


The best internet connection is a dedicated line such as a T1. Most of us don't have that, although some traders and some trade rooms do.

The next obvious choices are DSL and Cable. Both of those are normally very good, but can be subject to your local carrier having oversold their capacity. It just depends on your local situation. I have a dedicated business grade DSL in my office and it is fine.

Whenever possible, avoid making any part of your connection wireless. Wireless connections of every kind are far less reliable than hard wired connections. Remember, we are providing professional grade streaming price quotes to you.

Satellite and Microwave connections are not very good. Don't use them unless you have no alternative.

Air Card, AKA Wireless Broadband, connections are the worst. They are the equivalent of a dialup over a cell phone. Your connection will drop repeatedly all day long. During those intervals of dropped and reconnecting, you do not have up to date prices, and at those moments, you will not be able to connect to your broker. If you must use this type of connection, you must understand the risks and disadvantages. We have programmed our software to provide the best service possible over the worst type of connection. Understand your limitations.

Trading Procedures

I will describe some procedures that you can use when trading from our software. The principles of verification apply no matter what platform or broker you are using.

Assuming you have followed all the steps and are connecting to your account...

When you press the Buy or Sell button, you are attempting to place a trade. I say "attempting" because you still need to make sure what you wanted to happen, actually happened.

The first place you may wish to look is your Deal blotter ... the button with "D" on it. The deal blotter is a static list of your transactions with the broker. Review this as a step to verify that your trade was placed. You may wish to click on the vertical separator between TradeDate and Confirmation and drag it to the right, so you can see the time as well.

When I'm trying to confirm a trade I prefer the position window. Use the "P" button. The Position Blotter is programmed to report your positions and our Stoploss and Take Profit orders in real time. These are values obtained from communication with the Broker.

The Margin blotter, the "M" button, is also useful for confirming trades, if you are following it closely. You might notice the "Total available position" entry on the Margin blotter. As you approach your margin limit, this will approach zero. Click Refresh to get the latest.

Of the blotters, I use the Position blotter the most. I am most concerned about what open positions I have, and what my P and L are. That's the "Unrealized Gain or Loss" Column.

My personal procedure for opening a trade is this:

• Visually confirm that the Lot Size pull down menu is set for the number of lots I wish to trade.
• Wait for my setup
• Click the Buy or Sell
• Watch for the AO button to appear on the Grid
• Click the AO button
• Click "Place Order" without taking the time to change anything. That is the fastest way to the best protection.
• Now confirm on the Position blotter that I have the trade I think I should and for the size I think I should.
• Now click the AO button and adjust my stop and limit to whatever my setup indicates
• Check the Position blotter again to verify that my Associated orders are correct.

• There are multiple potential points of failure in internet trading
• Get the best setup
• Assemble your emergency kit and procedures
• Verify your trades in and out
• Always use a Stop loss
• ....and remember that ultimately YOU are responsible for your trades, regardless of what goes wrong