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The reason they don't like scalpers is because it doesn't give them enough to time to offset their positions with the IB.
While it's true that they can't offset your 1 lot position, they wait until they have a large enough amount to do so.
So for sake of argument, if they have 100 traders buying the Eur at about the same price at 1 lot each, they can then offset that $10 million with the IB. If you consistently enter and exit without giving them time to aggregate your position, sure it's going to piss them off. Then they put you on manual execution. What exactly constitutes "enough time" though is up for grabs.
Pittsburgh stated in one post that a position held for 2 minutes would not attract their attention. I don't scalp, but I imagine there are some folks out there that will jump in and out in a matter of seconds, looking to grab 5 pips with 20, 50, 100 lots at a whack.
From a purely practical viewpoint, it is in their benefit for their customers to never go broke because they make money risk free from the spread if they're able to offset. However, humans being humans, there will always be greedy pricks who want it all.
I'm sure they do cover some trades themselves but probably not as much as some might think, and it's probably more out of necessity than greed. It's not a good long term approach to staying in business, no different than a bookie. The reason they don't like people straddling NFP-type announcements is because they can't offset at a price that allows them to B/E while making the spread.
Personally, I wouldn't worry about them covering your trades. It's negative thinking as well as a waste of energy and time. There's so much more that needs worrying about. If your broker out and out screws you, then you simply change brokers.
Nat
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