I would try cnbc.com and play the fantasy stock game and see how you do
I do understand how risky of a business this is and how much luck is involved. Just looking for some experienced individuals in the field.
I had a buddy who recently took a bath in CROC Bought one day for 70 (?) it opened down about thirty points the next day. If it had been me I would have sold at market as soon as it happened… cause it won't get much better and it hasn't.
It is in the selling not the buying that will make you money. If you try to hit the highest price or buy at the lowest you will go broke.
Limit your positions to two or three. So you can act quickly if you need to.
Genesis provides the Laser platform, which offers direct access through all major US exchanges and ECNs. That is what I have had luck with. I felt it was very user friendly. At my last job I also worked with clients that use the Cybertrader platform, which is also a good Level II platform. The only other platform that I have worked with in addition to those two was HammerTrade, through Assent Clearing. At the time I used it (2004-2005) I found it to be relatively primitive, although I think they have advanced it since then. Other discount brokers like Etrade, etc. offer relatively good Level II platforms and even the major bulge bracket firms have tools available, if you meet capital requirements.
Oftentimes, you will find that it is trial and error-whatever works for you is the best. Different programs have different perks. If you are just looking at charting, I think ESignal is relatively good. You may want to check out Metastock too. Often charting systems will give you a free trial period to check out the software first. Good luck trading.
If that is the case, would there be any advantage to incorporating? I would like to deduct my expenses for office equipment and technology and subscription services.
As a corp. will I have to list each individual trade as I do now on my Sched. D?
What would be the tax advantage of incorporating if any?
Dan V.
Day trading IS a gamble. I know because I day trade, successfully.
Your two responders are not traders.
First if you use stops, you will many times get stopped out before it turns right around. I would have happened to me on LEH on Tues. I took a very nice profit.
Second you HAVE to have NASDQA Level 2 quotes. *this is how I knew NOT to get out of LEH on Tues. I got caught in a bid/ask spread that was to wide with a thin bid.
You have to see the whole market. You have to know that there are many buyers or sellers. Level 2 gives you that look.
Third take small nibbles. My goal is $300 to $500 a day. I leave a lot on the table.. but I am usaually in and out first 1/2 hour of trading.
I am in and out because day trading in many ways is like gambling and either you control the beast of the beast eats you alive. You can easily become a servant to the adrenalin rush Do that and you begin trading because you have to trade, not that there are good trades to be made.
Timing is everything. You will need to learn when a market order is prudent and when you need to use limits.
I bought 500 V today at about 59 .. I had to leave so I put in a limit to sell at 61. I thought that would give me time to come back and watch. LOL. It went to 61 and I was out. Now do I wish I had made more? Not really because I netted just shy of $1000 for the day.
That brings me to another thing. Day trading is a FULL time job. You can't expect to put in an order and then go to work. My full time may only be the first 30 minutes to an hour of trading but I don't leave the computer in that time.
The day IBM announced the buy back, I had thought I would be a buyer at 109.. I had to go to the bathroom. I hadn't put in the buy ( it was trading at 108.50 so I would have been filled. Three minutes later it was trading at 114 because of the announcement.
I rarely do like I did today and even rarer is holding a position over night. Particularly in this market. Up 400 down 200 up 300 etc.
Good luck and good trading
I knew others who had already amassed several hundred thousand by the time the stock boom came along. They were millionaires by the time the 1990s ended.
Ah yes, those were the days. Today it's a lot harder. Stocks don't seem to do much any more. You have to invest in risky emerging countries to see much return. And that chance can evaporate overnight taking your money with it.
When the stock market won't bring you any return, most people turn to real estate. But housing prices have peaked in most cities, meaning you can't just buy a house and sit on it for several years to earn a fat nest egg.
So does that mean we have to give up on ever getting ahead and just learn to be satisfied living the average life our jobs can provide?
Not necessarily. These days you have to think differently to get ahead. For example, you've noticed how manufacturing and jobs are heading out of North America to foreign countries. That's bad news for many workers, but it's GREAT news for some segments of the Foreign Exchange Market.
You see, when we buy products from China, or Japan ships products to England, all kinds of currency has to change hands and be converted. There is BIG money in that process.
FOREX, the foreign exchange market, handles 2 TRILLION in transactions EVERY DAY. That's far more money than what Wall Street handles. Just about anybody can jump in and pull out quite a profit for themselves by participating in the FOREX process.
Does all this sound a bit new to you? Most North Americans have heard very little about FOREX. They've got BILLIONS of dollars sitting in savings accounts and low yield investments that could make them a LOT more money in the Foreign Exchange Industry.
Check out the FreedomRocks free trial at http://www.yourforexinvestor.com
I would also look at http://www.babypips.com
Send me an e-mail and I will be happy to share my P/L spreadsheet with you from the last 500 days. I have gained anywhere from 12-35 % compounded monthly on average for the past 500 days using the FR system.
To Your Success,
Brandon Wells
877-773-5345
http://www.yourforexinvestor.com
Can I avoid this by trading in a cash account rather than a margin account and only use my avail. cash?
How is 5 days counted? Is it the 5 consecutive days that the markest are open? Recently Jan 1&2 were closed days for equities; therefore 5 days might include Dec. 29, Jan 3, 4, 5 and 8.
What I am trying to do is 'daytrade' but not trigger the higher cash req. for my account.
Any help would greatly be appreciated.
D.S. Virga
You can trade as often as you want in your cash account, so I would use that first, and keep the longer trades in your margin account until you have enough funding in there to meet the higher balance requirements for day-trading on margin. For my brokerage that amount is $25K, but it will be difficult for you to make a living day trading on anything less than that anyways.
Keep your day job, and day trade from your cash account.
You have as good a chance with commodities futures.
It is about 3 months that I'm studying hardly forex. I have a good underestanding cause my previous job was "pragramming C#" and I left it to enter to trading world. but unfortunately I have not come up with a trading system that really works and make profits.
I'm in stress cause I should start my real trading as soon as possible. I prefer my positions be open for several days or more cause I don't want new stresses. Please elaborate me your system that you have experience of working with it.
I am 37 and I want to open my real account with about 2,500 US $.
Please introduce me a trustable broker in advance cause this is second problem that has confused me.
European brokers are much preferred. I let you know my experience in future and will send you post cards to appreciate your useful answers.
You can really help me
You're probably wanting to do it for the money, not for the process of trading. Or maybe you're good at analyzing the markets and setting up the computer to analyze and evaluate, but that doesn't make a trader.
If you're just doing it for the money, you will not approach the market properly, you will be impatient, and you will tire easily. Really, there are lots of better ways to make money. You probably already expect to earn an income from such a small investment of $2,500. If these are true, you have unrealistic expectations, and you will not succeed.
PremiereTrade is one of the best trading platforms for the Forex beginner, because they have such a great community of others to help you get going. It costs $3,000. But they will tell you up front to paper trade in the Demo Account for a year before you actually commit money.
Neither does a brain surgeon walk out of school and pick up a scapel and begin operating, or an engineer walk out of class and begin building skyscrapers. And you have not even begun to learn, let alone apply the rules of trading, or to master your fears and emotions, or even know what they are.
I think most people come to trading expecting to "Get rich quick." Doctors and lawyers are the worst traders in existence, because they are used to being in control. Almost all professionals do poorly at first, because they have succeeded elsewhere, and expect it to be easy.
Trading is the most difficult challenge you will ever face. If it were easy, we would all be rich. But instead, 80% of all traders blow out their account within the first year.
Personally, I have lost everything three times, trading the stock market index futures. Now I have finally settled on Forex, and am doing quite well after 17 years of learning.
If you buy PremiereTrade, they will charge you $100/mo for the data feed. For one year, that is another $1,200. You can trade a simulator for free here and learn as you go:
http://www.expertworx.com/pm/Forex%20Market%20Educational%20Game.htm
Here is the broker I use:
http://fxdd.com/