really confused about bid/ask/last...

[behealed]

I've talked to GAIN (my broker) about this and they can't seem to give me a straight answer. Maybe someone here can help me out.

If GAIN sets their "last" or "current" market price to = the bid price, then it would seem to me that, if I place a limit order for a sell, it will get filled when the chart's "current" or "last" price (which is used to calculate ninja trader indicators, and I've verified that when connected to GAIN) goes up to touch the exact spot where I set my limit. Whereas, if I set a buy limit, and the spread is currently 3 pips, then the market "last" or "current" price will have to go 3 pips BELOW my limit, so that the ask price (which is always above the "last" or "current" price) makes it down to my buy limit order, to tap me in to buy.

Meaning I would want to set all my buy limit (for entry) orders to be 3 pips (or spread size) above where my indicators show I should get in.

In my quest to find the answer to this problem, I asked GAIN if they trigger orders based on the "last", bid, or ask price. If they trigger all orders based on the "last" price, then all my limit orders, whether they are buys or sells, would get triggered exactly where I would expect them to, according to the chart. However, if GAIN triggers orders by anything other than the last price, then we have a problem. So I asked them, and they straightly informed me that they trigger buy limits by the ask price, and sell limits by the bid price. Now I realize that the support agent I talked to could be mistaken, so I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience to know if this is correct or not?

Anyway, so this means that I would need to set my buy limits 3 pips (or whatever the current spread is) above my desired trigger point *according to the charts, and remember that the charts go by the bid*, and set my sell limits normally?

Any help or advice appreciated!

[NinjaTrader_Josh]

Hi behealed,

I do not have experience in this particular aspect, but you could build your own bid/ask book so you know where the bid/ask prices are and submit your orders to wherever you want exactly without assuming the 3-pips difference.

http://www.ninjatrader-support.com/v...ead.php?t=3478

[NinjaTrader_Ray]

The price updating on your chart when connected to GAIN is derrived from the current bid price.

[behealed]

I made a nice indicator that shows the average difference between the bid and ask price over the last 20 ticks received. Great for stabilizing it, and to use in strategy tweaking. Donno how to share but I figure if anyone wants it just reply here or something.

[NinjaTrader_Josh]

If you want you can share it in this section of the forum: http://www.ninjatrader-support.com/v...ks.php?catid=1

Just use the Export NinjaScript tool and upload it there.