Ping is not the number to watch, jitter is
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2026 10:12 am
A connection that pings 10 milliseconds every time is better for scalping than one that averages 8 but swings between 2 and 60. A predictable delay can be planned around. An unpredictable one cannot.
Jitter is the variation between consecutive pings. High jitter means some orders arrive fast and others arrive late, and the late ones are usually the ones that matter, because trouble tends to arrive in bursts.
Measuring it takes a continuous ping to the broker's server for an hour or two, logging each result. The average, the maximum and the standard deviation say more than a single speed test.
Look also at the 99th percentile. If one ping in a hundred takes 150 milliseconds, then across hundreds of trades a day, several orders will suffer.
Packet loss is the related problem. Even one percent loss forces retransmissions that add noticeable delay.
Causes include Wi-Fi interference, congested home networks, busy routers, and overloaded VPS hosts.
Testing at different times of day often shows that the evening, when neighbours stream video, is worse than the morning.
What do the jitter numbers look like on the current connection, and has anything been done about the worst spikes?
Jitter is the variation between consecutive pings. High jitter means some orders arrive fast and others arrive late, and the late ones are usually the ones that matter, because trouble tends to arrive in bursts.
Measuring it takes a continuous ping to the broker's server for an hour or two, logging each result. The average, the maximum and the standard deviation say more than a single speed test.
Look also at the 99th percentile. If one ping in a hundred takes 150 milliseconds, then across hundreds of trades a day, several orders will suffer.
Packet loss is the related problem. Even one percent loss forces retransmissions that add noticeable delay.
Causes include Wi-Fi interference, congested home networks, busy routers, and overloaded VPS hosts.
Testing at different times of day often shows that the evening, when neighbours stream video, is worse than the morning.
What do the jitter numbers look like on the current connection, and has anything been done about the worst spikes?