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Is there a fee to use the TOS platform? I been playing around with the charts for a couple months and really like it. Used their play money account but that expires after 60 days use. Would like to continue to use it.
Also, has this been improved for trading futures on a 5_min time frame?
Thinkorswim paper money is free to use forever AFAIK. Where did you read it expires after 60 days?
I use it live for trading futures and have no problem with charts.
Thinkorswim paper trading has instant fills (unrealistic) so if you are scalping futures, trading complex option spreads (hard to fill) or iliquid stocks it is pretty much useless. Try a ninjatrader demo for a closer to live experience if trading futures.
Yes, new demo accounts expire at 60 days. Old demo accounts last forever, though. I have a demo account since 2010 and it doesn't expire.
Another thing you can do is to open a real account without funds (it's free, but you have to send some documentation to them) and then you can use the On Demand function that gives you a virtual account with $100.000 to practice
Thanks for the information, I have used thinkorswim for a while. Have been traded mostly in options and stocks before this. Just started traded futures with them recently.
For stocks and etf, I am able to lowered if to $5 per trade(regardless of number of stocks)
For options, they are able to lowered mine to $1.50 per contract.
Based on your information, I will try to negotiate the futures contract commission also.
Thanks!
Bolded features are actually in the current release, not sure about others: --A Tick Counter you can even change the place the counter on the chart --A Way to Save the "Customized" Tick Size even though you use the same ones every session although you cannot save customized tick size, next time you open TOS it will automatically load the last configuration before you logged off. if you're comfortable with a specific tick size, just stick to it and it should not be an issue --Why is all the Space Wasted on the Bar Above the Chart When It Could House a ToolBox? you can customize the margin on the top/bottom of the chart
It takes a while to explore all the potentials.
One thing I appreciate TOS is the platform takes care of rollover. No messy manual adjustment/mapping/changing symbol required
It's funny when people make blanket statements like this. Personally I would never scalp futures on ToS. It always lags for me. That said I have a very good friend that trades 3000 - 5000 contracts on ToS every month. He scalps trades all day long and uses ToS exclusively, pays lower commissions than I do, and consistently does well. He is a huge fan of the platform. For options ToS is fantastic.
If you only used market orders then TOS is not for you. If you set limit orders at specific levels before price gets to those levels, there is no difference since the orders are all sitting at the exchange. You will see a lag on your screen but your order will be executed fine regardless of the broker.