You can pay the NASDAQ (or any exchange) to colocate your server beside their server with a low-latency network link and see a live feed of the orders as they hit the book.
I know about colocation, but I was under the impression that once you see an order in the book it is in the book. I.e. your order will be placed after it.
If there are multiple exchanges trading the same (or very similar) products, then you might be able to see an order on one, and quickly send an order to the other one. In the US, equities trade on multiple exchanges.
