Trading Pit Hand Signals
tradingpithistory.com
tradingpithistory.com
(This pagination is really awkward to navigate for that brokerage sign list though right?)
But indeed the folks weren't too shy: https://tradingpithistory.com/hand-signals/participants-liff...
https://tradingpithistory.com/hand-signals/participants-cme/...
That's more like it.
I guess the implication here is they e.g. sold 10,000 futures short, then re-purchased 10,000 futures to settle it and kept the difference. The problem is that even if you wind up with net 0 futures, you still need to hypothetically cover the short position during the trading day, or you could be violating the law (this is typically via margin, but who agreed to lend the two of them that money?).
Maybe I'm forgetting the part of the movie where they had some rich backer or approached another firm to bankroll them/get them floor access.
PS - The movie is still tons of fun, and I'd recommend it. These unclear details don't really undercut the core message, just odd as they went to pains to get a lot of things right.
Selling futures short isn't fundamentally different from opening a long position. It sounds like you're confusing it with some stock market regulation. Though yes, you do need some capital to back your position, and you normally need to be a member of the exchange.
The movie showed them getting money from the butler and the prostitute, but I doubt that would have been enough for the size they were doing. But who knows?
Getting badges and floor access that quickly is a huge hole, though.