Hotkeys are key commands that can be programmed to automatically send orders with the touch of a combination of keys on your keyboard. Professional traders will use Hotkeys to enter trades, exit trades, place stop orders, and cancel orders. They don’t use a mouse or any sort of manual order entry system. The use of Hotkeys eliminates the delays created by manual entries. The volatility of the market, especially at the Open, can allow for huge profits if you can trade properly, but it can also result in significant losses if you fail to act quickly. Often, the proper use of Hotkeys is the factor that separates the losers from the winners.
Most of the day trading strategies I use require high-speed trading. In day trading, the market can move very fast, especially at the market Open. Stocks can very quickly hit your entry or exit price, often in a matter of seconds. In order to be able to day trade effectively, it is important to use a trading platform that offers Hotkeys. For high-speed trading, you should have all of the possible trade combinations in your Hotkeys. In my opinion, it is almost impossible to day trade profitably without using Hotkeys. It is best to check with your broker and trading platform support team to ensure you are familiar with how to write a proper script for your Hotkeys.
For a long position (you’ll recall that “buying long” means you buy shares at one price and hope to sell them at a higher price), my buy orders are in blocks of 400, 200 and 100 shares. I use a marketable limit order to buy at the ask price + 5 cents. My “sell” Hotkeys are marketable limit orders to sell my half or full positions on the bid price - 5 cents. When selling, I will accept the bid price and a price no more than 5 cents lower, to ensure my order gets filled immediately. The DAS platform will automatically calculate what half of my position equals in number of shares. The computer will also calculate the current bid and ask prices and place my order at the price I specify.
Similarly, for short positions (you’ll recall that “short” means you borrow shares from your broker, sell them, and hope to later buy back the shares at a lower price for return to your broker), I short sell on the bid price or on a price no more than 5 cents lower. My “buy to cover shorts” Hotkeys are marketable limit orders to buy my half or full positions on the ask price + 5 cents. I am willing to pay higher prices (up to 5 cents) to asks, just to get my orders filled immediately.