I may be completely wrong, but I think in my situation the following is happening : I tend to ignore the general trend on the day to some extent and look for the spike up or down to grab. Say the sb co. has decided that GSK is going down for this part of the day, they will hedge every down bet. If I come in after a spike down to take it up, they probably think I am an idiot on a day like this, so let it happen, without hedging, on the basis that I will lose to them fairly quickly. Of course, two minutes later it has bounced back up 4 or 5 points and I am out again, either giving them no time to hedge it, or if they were not going to anyhow, I have taken 4 or 5 times £20 straight out of their coffers. If they simply connected an auto buy of shares to hedge on EVERY trade, whether they considered it wise or not, they would not have this situation, although it would no doubt reduce their profits. With my type of trading they are simply betting against me, and become grumpy if they lose. I can understand their side and in their position I think I would tend to ensure that every time somebody doing my style of trading comes on, they hedge it automatically. Then we both make a little. I should also make it clear that I do not take large amounts from them, at best each day is a couple of hundred pounds. It would thus be folly for anybody reading this to imagine it is a situation only reserved for very profitable traders. It is now at the level where I cannot place even £1 on anything without it being directed to a dealer !! Would I do the same if I were the SB co. ? - in fairness I probably would, as after all their job is to maximise profit for the business. While the situation may not suit me one bit, I would be hypocritical not to see their view. If anybody knows an alternative method where good returns can come from little capital I would love to know it, as I think I am now swimming against a nasty tide.