"System Brokers" and Slow Fills

[tszz@xxxxxxxxx]

Hi,

(Don't hesitate to react to this message and post your opinion !)

I believe that "system brokers" (like TradeCenter, Striker...)
don't give the best fills to their customers and that they don't
make money on commissions but on "ripped" fills.

Volatility can be huge during the first minutes of the open...
Don't you think that some brokers could take advantage of that for
they own account, telling you they placed the order to buy at 10
when in fact they bought it at 9.5... giving you, each time, the
worst execution, with the difference in their pocket ? Is it
possible ? Don't you think that they are ways/tricks to do that
or am I too cautious ? There are so many stories of scams in the
brokerage industry...

Some people think : "The brokers all place stop orders based on
the opening price plus or minus the system-directed number of
points. If the number of points to be added or subtracted from the
open that day is relatively small, a good broker will make sure of
his opening price before placing the stop order. It is far worse to
reverse position erroneously than to reverse correctly, but at a
little worse price"

Questions : - Where can I find this "good broker" ?
                 - How can I check his "work" ?

Some others think : "The MOO and MOC are good orders, but you had
better be ready to get "ripped" on the fill. This order follows the
rules for a Market Order, but is done within the opening or closing
"Range" of the day's trading.  The range is determined by the
Clearing House and will be the low and high prices that were met
during the period of time known as the opening or closing.  The time
period varies from trading floor to trading floor and could be as
short as 10 seconds or as long as a minute.  If you have an order to
buy or sell on the open, you are entitled to a fill within the range
that was set in that opening period.  Same goes for the close.  Keep
in mind that you can't argue about the fill price so long as it falls
within that range.  Also keep in mind that in cases of fast markets
and limit moves, you may not even receive a fill price.  My own
experience tells me to use these orders very sparingly and you must
REALLY know the behavior of the trading floor for the contract you
are trading"

Questions : - Where can I find PRECISE information about the opening
                  and closing ranges of the exchanges ? (if you have a link
                  please post it)
           - This person says ranges are determined by Clearing Houses.
              Is it true ? Aren't they fixed by the exchanges ??

Thank you,

Denis