Patent ID: 7392219

Claim:
A method for variably regulating order entry in an electronic trading application, the method comprising: establishing a spread between a first tradeable object and a second tradeable object; receiving a first market data for the first tradeable object, the first market data comprising a first inside market that represents a highest bid price currently available for the first tradeable object and a lowest ask price currently available for the first tradeable object; receiving a second market data for the second tradeable object, the second market data comprising a second inside market that represents a highest bid price currently available for the second tradeable object and a lowest ask price currently available for the second tradeable object; receiving a desired spread price to buy or sell a certain quantity of the spread; sending a trade order to buy or sell the first tradeable object with a price that is based on the desired spread price to buy or sell the certain quantity of the spread, and further based on the second inside market; receiving a change in the second inside market; computing an effective spread price based on the price of the trade order and further based on the changed second inside market, the effective spread price representing a current price for the spread; establishing a plurality of ranges, each range comprising a different value that represents a difference between the effective spread price and the desired spread price; selecting a specific range from the plurality of ranges based on the desired spread price; using a value from the specific range to determine whether the effective spread price is within a range of price levels determined by the value and the desired spread price; when the effective spread price falls outside of the range of price levels, replacing the trade order with a second trade order to buy or sell the first tradeable object with a second price that is based on the desired spread price to buy or sell the certain quantity of the spread, and further based on the changed second inside market; and when the effective spread price is within the range of price levels, maintaining the trade order at the price.