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blackjack, With respect to your latest strategy, it seems you're not quite getting the distinction between shorting a stock and simply selling. A short is nothing more than the sale of a stock--period. The only difference between that and selling a stock that you already own is that one is...

blackjack, It seems to me you've become too caught up in "percentages" rather than actual balances. In the original scenario you painted, you started with $5K, went down to $1250, and generating the monthly "percentage" return you described would need 4 years just to get back to your...

To be honest I have now heard and read conflicting reports on whether a cash only account will still be allowed to daytrade under the new rules. The question arises from the T+3 settlement issue, which can be a bit convoluted. However, based on all the information I have processed, it now...

To add to what the others said, the reason why everyone doesn't do this is scenario number 3 you mentioned. First, when a stock drops a lot, usually the premiums for its options drop because of a decrease in volatility, so you wouldn't be able to get much anymore for the covered calls. Second...

Actually I don't think it will increase volatility in lower priced issues, because basically no one with accounts less than $25K will be able to daytrade, regardless of whether it is a margin or cash account (since cash only accounts cannot daytrade).

If you guys need to continue your tete a tete, do it via email, not on the boards. Any further bickering will force me to delete any further posts that contain personal and character attacks. Thanks.

candletrader, That is incorrect. Accounts with less than $25K can still use margin, they just cannot daytrade. So if you are a multiday swing trader, an options seller, or even an investor who wants to buy or short on margin and your account is less than $25K, you still can. You'll only...

What brokers could do to protect themselves from margin defaults is what IB does, which is to automatically liquidate a client's position if it exceeds their margin maintenance requirement, thereby never actually triggering a margin call.

Here's a great story about halts, from the EMLX hoax that mgregor mentioned. I had been watching EMLX, and it had run up from the 50's to over 110 in a period of a week or so. Since it had such a massive runup, I bought 3 100 strike put options on EMLX for $3.90 per contract. 3 days later in...

Here's another thought that just passed through my head. Could the new rules actually be trying to wipe out daytraders on both sides of the $25K mark? Hmmm, let's see. We know that traders with less than $25K will already be out of the game, and then the SEC throws in 4:1 margin for those...

Although I'm not personally affected by this, the new rule upsets me greatly for these reasons: 1. It represents a concerted effort to wipe out a certain portion of the daytrading community by those who view daytraders with contempt and disdain. 2. The minimum account requirements are...

Now that I think about it, if you wanted to do a play on the Fed cut (or any other expected market moving news), your safest bet would be to do an options straddle.

I also don't often take positions based on Fed days. However, if I had to venture a guess, I would say Greenie will do 50. He knows that 25 will probably cause the market to puke, which is the last thing he can afford now. Auto output from Japan fell 2.4%. Prices paid in Japan fell again...

Mike, Your quotes from the NTT accurately describes crossing and locking the market with ISLD. However, one thing that is incorrect is your statement that only the best bid/ask is viewable from ISLD. If you have a Level II feed, you can see any/all ISLD bids/offers (if you don't have level...

sniper, I disagree. I used to trade with a Realtick broker, and while I preferred the integrated quote and execution platform, I still use Realtick for my quotes/charts but execute through IB. My fills are about the same in terms of routing and speed as they were with the Realtick broker...

If I'm trading a very liquid stock (which is most of the time) I use BEST ECN or ISLD. I rarely pay more than I wanted to, as there is usually an ECN to grab nearby. Mind you I am primarily doing swing trades now, so I don't worry too much about paying a little outside the best quote (as long...

shyhh, Fading the gap means to short a stock that has gapped open, or to buy a stock that has gapped down. So for instance if XYZ gaps up at the open by $2.00, you short it, as most stocks that gap open will retrace at least some of that gap.

I personally tend to prefer NASDAQ due to the reasons you mentioned, namely volatility and powerful moves. I also prefer NASDAQ because I have greater control over how my order is routed and executed (although these days with more ECN's trading listed stocks it's becoming less of a factor)...

Well, it depends. The SEC is an appointed commission (I believe), so the only people who could have had influence are members of Congress (by the way, wouldn't that word equal the opposite of Progress?). Since the rule has already been proposed and passed, the only thing that could be done...

You can technically cross the market using an ECN, if you are going after a posted bid or offer that is outside the market on the same ECN you use to execute on. So for instance, if the inside bid/offer is 50.10 by 50.12, and the best Island offer is at 50.15, you could use the Island ECN route...