Dealers, Execution, and Costs

Spread, markup, last look, and the statement you will ignore.

Beginner 5 min read Course 5 of 60

Course 5 of 60 in the forex hub. The object is dealers, markups, last look, and reading the statement.

The Quote Is Not Always the Fill

The Quote Is Not Always the Fill. The honest one-sentence object of this lesson is dealers, markups, last look, and reading the statement. If you cannot say that without opening a platform, you will size the wrong clock. The failure mode that actually hurts accounts is picking a dealer by the tightest screenshot spread. Write the object, then size. Educational only.

Analog, not identity: execution quality is part of the product. Crypto pairs and listed index futures are a different lesson. Different machine, different hours, different ruin path. Contrast the object with futures hub rather than treating every product as the same machine.

1. Dealer vs ECN-ish routing

Dealer vs ECN-ish routing is the first working definition. Dealers, markups, last look, and reading the statement. People skip this because a chart is easier than a specification. A chart is not a spec. If you cannot explain Dealers, Execution, and Costs to a skeptical friend without a screenshot, you do not understand it yet.

Keep a crib note: object, invalidation, dollar cap. Picking a dealer by the tightest screenshot spread is how cribs get skipped. Do not skip. For the arithmetic habit, use P&L calculator until dollars are boring.

OTC: you trade the dealer's book, not NYSE You Dealer / LP Bid / ask they show Markup / last look Your statement lives here Not a CLOB A tight screenshot spread is an ad. Last-look rejects belong in the journal as a cost.

2. Spread and markup

Spread and markup. Convert every pretty statement into dollars. The arithmetic below is illustration — live ticks, pips, and margins change. Re-read the live schedule.

If last-look rejects 30% of your stops, your $117 stop is fictional. Change venue or size as if fills are optional.

If that arithmetic already exceeds your cap, the lesson is over: pass or step down in size. Passing is a position. Confirm the dollar translation with stop calculator so the notebook and the statement agree.

3. Last look

Last look. Context is not a trigger. Execution quality is part of the product. Use context to veto, not to force a click.

When in doubt, name dealers, markups, last look, and reading the statement again. If the sentence changed, you changed trades without admitting it. Related structure: free calculators.

The quote you saw is not always the fill — last look can reject the stop You click stop 1.0800 Fill ~1.0801 Reject / requote Still in the trade Stop was fictional If rejects cluster on your stops, size as if exits are optional — or change the dealer. Measure it. Do not call it lag.

4. The statement

The statement. Process beats mood. Write the rule that fires without a debate at the worst moment. If the rule is 'I'll see how I feel,' you do not have a rule.

Stops, flatten policies, and session boundaries belong in the same notebook as the thesis for Dealers, Execution, and Costs. If the stop is a price, convert it with listed glossary after you already know the tick or pip.

5. When to leave

When to leave. Fair warning: specs, leverage caps, and dealer rules change over time. The live document wins. Educational only. Not NFA, tax, or a solicitation.

Re-read primary docs before you add size on the object of Dealers, Execution, and Costs. See also previous lesson when the confusion is the venue layer, not the chart.

6. Mistakes, limits, takeaways

Mistakes: picking a dealer by the tightest screenshot spread; copying size from a stream; ignoring costs; mixing this machine with crypto pairs or listed index futures. Another: treating Dealers, Execution, and Costs as advanced because the vocabulary is long rather than because the dollar cap is written. If the sister asset class is the real mix-up, next lesson before you add size.

Maps go stale. Execution quality is part of the product. If this lesson and the live spec or statement disagree, the live document wins.

Your dealer is also your counterparty

In retail spot forex, your broker usually isn't sending your order to an exchange. It is the dealer, quoting prices and often taking the other side of your trade or passing it to its liquidity providers. That's normal, and it means the quality of the dealer matters.

Before funding an account, check its registration, read how it handles fills during news, and look at the all-in cost: spread, any commission, and overnight swap. Ask whether it uses last look and what its margin closeout policy is. Then test with a small amount before trusting it with more. Fills during a quiet session tell you little; watch how it behaves around a big data release.

Worth writing down

  • Object: dealers, markups, last look, and reading the statement.
  • Failure: picking a dealer by the tightest screenshot spread.
  • Dollars first, leverage last.
  • Skip the window you cannot survive.

Dealers, Execution, and Costs can remain a useful lesson and a poor live habit at the wrong size. Educational only. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any contract or pair.