Happy Guy,
And a hello to you.
I am not on the trading desk anymore and in fact much of my work is in meetings or outside the office so I am not as connected to the market. I would not attempt it now (unless I get the urge to go back on the desk - which occasionally I do miss). I personally think that trading through "a broker" is a not connected enough to the market makers for my liking (at least where it comes to day trading).
Yes, you are right. I look forward to the day, and it is coming, when clients can *all* trade direct and put the MM's out of work. I think this is a certainty especially on NASDQ, within five years.
Traders are getting very savvy to the tricks of the MM's, at least they should be as there is enough information out there to give more than an insight into their devilish ways. The latest Court case by the SEC against some MM's is going to further highlight what really happens behind the scenes in the market, though I noticed that Dateline backed out from televising a feature about this at the last moment.
It is little wonder that the Merril Lynch CEO was given a bonus of over $20,000,000 last year. Probably the exact amount of money fleeced from traders by his MM's.
Best regards - HS