Sounds like a conspiracy theory, but it's completely legal, extremely common in the industry, and most retail traders have no idea it happens.Let's understand this: A-Book vs B-Book


A-Book: Your broker sends your order straight to the real market (a liquidity provider or bank). If you win, the broker doesn't lose anything  they just earn from the spread/commission.


B-Book: Your broker becomes your counterparty internally. Meaning if you buy, the broker is effectively holding the sell side. If you lose, that money becomes their profit directly.


So the question is which one is your broker doing?


Why this matters


Under the B-Book model, the broker's incentive is for you to lose. That doesn't mean they're manipulating charts outright (most regulated brokers don't do this  it's illegal). But some subtle things can happen:


Spreads suddenly widening during high-volatility momentsSlippage consistently going against you, never in your favorSmall retail accounts often being placed on B-Book by default (since statistically 70-80% of retail traders lose anyway that's predictable profit for the broker) This doesn't meanThis isn't a "all brokers are scamming you" claim. Large, regulated brokers run hybrid models smaller positions stay on B-Book, while big or consistently profitable traders get routed to A-Book. It's a business model, not something illegal.


The real takeawayCheck your broker's regulation (FCA, ASIC, CySEC, or similar proper regulators). Read the execution policy. And most importantly become consistently profitable, because that's when any broker is forced to route you to A-Book (since keeping you on B-Book stops making sense for them once you're winning).


Fighting the market is hard enough on its own. Having to fight your own broker without even knowing it is a whole extra level of disadvantage.

Don't give up