&gt; If a HFT firm buy them at other exchanges quicker than your order arrives there,<p>The crux of my complaint about Flash Boys is that it leaves the reader with this impression, which is usually an incorrect representation of what is happening.<p>A better simplification of what is happening is that the HFT firm is racing to update the price on shares they are already offering (or on buy orders they&#x27;ve already placed).<p>That is, they are more like a shop keeper changing their prices when they notice demand than a ticket scalper racing you to the ticket window.