Day Trading

There is no magic tool, you will have to find the answers yourself or you will never be a professional trader. Experience matters. You need to figure out the basics for yourself– don't fight strong trends, protect your capital, ride your winners, learn to spot trends, set stops, set specific goals for each trade, learn how to use leverage, learn to make money in every market, take breaks. You will fail. You will lose money. Some learn from this, some keep doing the same stupid things, some give up. If you want to be rich, you get up, ignore the pain, figure out where you made mistakes, and don't make them again. Moreover, after many years you may create the perfect trading strategy that on paper will make you rich every time, but executing it in real life is a different story. Psychology, emotions, it is your worst enemy. I was up 1200% in four months earlier this year, then my Dad got really sick and my dog died. I thought I could keep trading, but I was not nearly up to it, and wound up losing all of my profits from those four months in three weeks. It was actually a cheap lesson that I should have learned before. I won't make that mistake again. Don't look for tips or advise from others, because you can't be fixed, you have to be flexible and adapt to the market. No matter what happens you should be confident that you can start with a stake and turn it into real money in a couple of weeks; you need that kind of confidence and determination… that is more important than any software.

I am a day trader making money. Go to Investools.com

Anything with level II is what you are probably looking for. It appears the poster above me may need to read a few books himself. I know what you are talking about.

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.

Start learning the basics of fundamentals and technical so you will be more informed in your investments. You can find all the basic info you need on websites for free.
This site should give you a good start.

http://finance.yahoo.com/education

Try what you learn on demo sites. If you pick 75% right with play money then you might be ready to start slowly investing.

http://simulator.investopedia.com/

http://simulator.zacks.com/

http://www.fxcm.com/open-free-100k.jsp

http://www.alpari-idc.com/en/metatrader4…

Or just google for more.

I use Lightning Strikes Trading System for trading in any time frame and it works on forex, stocks, bonds, etf's, mutual funds, etc… They have 3 free training sessions a week and you don't have to buy the software to join in the live chat and text. You can even watch some recorded past live sessions. Here are some past charts that I used.

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/MB16R0zjjaZ…

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/MB16RxjOUQt…

There are 7 indicators (2 short, 2 medium, and 3 long term) and if volume is reported another one is added (on balance volume). Plus whatever time-frame is used the 2 green horizontal lines are the support and resistance for that time frame. So when indicators are all touching the bottom price is at or very, very near support. At top is at or very, very near resistance. Which helps my entry/exits and risk/reward ratio.

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/MB16R9Wv-wt…

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/MB16R9wSKdV…

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/QCt6R2fYIj6…

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/QCt6R3R0VQe…

If you can not view charts above I can email them.

Here are my favorite sites.

http://stockcharts.com/

Has basically all you need from fundamental to technical terms. Plus stock screens, charts, public chart lists, and much more useful info.

https://www.fidelity.com/

Has good learning resources.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/home.asp

In addition to yahoo finance.

http://www.reuters.com/

For news and more.

http://www.marketwatch.com/default.aspx

For news and more.

http://www.valueprime.com/index.php

For rating stock risk/reward ratio and reports.

http://www.barchart.com/

For investing in more than stocks.

http://www.investopedia.com/

For more great learning tools.

http://www.lightninglive.com/

For best software timing your entry/exits any time frame for day traders and long term investors.

Others worth exploring.

http://www.equis.com/

http://www.stockta.com/

http://www.secform4.com/

Best Wishes,
Burt Whitley

That last thing you need at the present time is a brokerage firm whether for on-line services or in-house services

For you to start to invest on-line would be a gigantic mistake on your part, since you have no idea what you are doing.

Why are you worrying about low fees, when you don't understand the very basics of investing. You only have a minimual amount of capital so you are not in a very good bargining position for special discounts.

Before you invest in any security, the first investment you should make is in yourself, and the best investment you can make is by educating yourself.
Start your education by learning why you should invest and the importance of being able to make your own decisions or how the pro’s make theirs.

Here's some websites that will help you get started,

http://moneycentral.msn.com/home.asp

http://finance.yahoo.com/

http://www.investors.com/?tn=top

http://investorshub.advfn.com/default.aspx

http://www.thestreet.com

http://www.brokerage101.com/

http://www.1source4stocks.com/

http://www.decisionpoint.com/TAcourse/TACourseMenu.html

http://stockcharts.com/

http://www.grahaminvestor.com/

http://www.thestreet.com/

http://www.morningstar.com/

Learn what to do, before you do anything that will cost you money.

You can get a full array of services, info and tools through Scottrade…even small investors…BUT you will not be able to " daytrade" without a bankroll. You never want to go on margin..( borrowing) … so for every trade you make, when it comes time to " sell" you should have at least that much cash in your account… and wait the three day settlement period to make your next trade… and if you lose track, or are a poor accountant… you can be suspended from trading very easily.

Soooo…just be satisfied to GET IN…make some small trades…but hold for a week, ten days…see how you do…. and wait between trades…
You will be more of an " investor", but " short- term" for sure !!

1. How to Take Money from Wall Street: Learn to Profit in Bull and Bear Markets by Tony Oz

2. The Stock Trader: How I Make a Living Trading Stocks by Tony Oz

3. The Nasdaq Trader's Toolkit by M. Rogan LaBier

4. The Master Swing Trader: Tools and Techniques to Profit from Outstanding Short-Term Trading Opportunities by Alan S. Farley

5. Tools and Tactics for the Master DayTrader: Battle-Tested Techniques for Day, Swing, and Position Traders by Oliver Velez

6. The Undergroundtrader.com Guide to Electronic Trading: Day Trading Techniques of a Master Guerrilla Trader by Jea Yu

7. Day Trading on the Edge: a Look-Before-You-Leap Guide to Extreme Investing by Leslie N. Masonson

8. The Guts and Glory of Day Trading: True Stories of Day Traders Who Made (or Lost) $1,000,000 by Mark Ingebretsen

Scottrade! Scottrade! Scottrade!!! I have been doing business with them for 5 yrs. The only extra fees you pay is for stocks trading under $1.00. I believe they charge 1/2 of 1 %. The executions are fast. They are willing to answer any questions you may have, and the are ALWAYS courteous! I wouldn't go anywhere else!!

I think E-trade has a good platform for day trading. You may want to give them a call and ask if they provide real-time quotes and other trading tools. You might have to pay extra for their real-time and/or "Depth of Market" quotation system.

You may also want to try E-Signal and NinjaTrader.
If you have a lot of money and you want top-of-the-line software, then you might want to try Bloomberg, Reuters, Thomson, Moody's, etc.

You should always do day trading in stocks which trade with good volumes. Otherwise you can get stuck after buying or selling stocks without prospects of trading in the same day. You should also use tools which give live quotes of stocks along with traded volume for the day.