Could this hypothetical expert in every market have become an expert without trading successfully? You are right. An expert should have a lot more capital than $2k. I don't think you could call yourself an expert without having traded up to at least $250k or so.
But let's say this expert just did 10 years in the pokey for fraud and embezzlement. Every cent he had, every posession, was taken from him. Can't get a job anywhere, even McDonalds. He does odd jobs, mowing grass, housepainting, cleaning boat bottoms, day work with a labor pool, etc and after a couple of months he has $2000 in hard won hard cash saved up. And he wants to trade. He already knows what to do! Either Forex, or a margin equity account with an offshore broker. He would trade his ass off and do a Ross Cameron and be up to a Mill in less than 3 years of trading. A newbie starting with $2k would be very protective of his money, if he was smart. The expert would tolerate a much higher risk level in the beginning in order to quickly trade up to $25k and move to a U.S. broker, and then trade a bit more conservatively. Actually he might do options rather than equities, now that I think of it. The main thing is, he would not be asking anyone else. He would already know what would work best for him. That's my thinking, anyway.