[nihilum]

>"A bid I can never hit because it will be gone any time I'd actually want to hit it..."

Why should they let you hit them when they expect to lose? The HFT firms have some pretty decent traders. They're not going to sit there idle and let you pick them off. If you want to win this game, you have to be better than the competition.

[chernevik]

They shouldn't, and I don't expect them too. The point is that someone who is effectively jumping to the head of the line for profitable trades isn't really "providing liquidity".

When I think of liquidity providers, I'm thinking of market makers who post prices at which they either buy or sell, offered long enough to allow other traders to hit either.