If you actually think you're ready to try your hand at (retail) daytrading...
Open a futures account and take on the e-minis, be they the Dow e-mini or the S&P500 e-mini. There have been numerous threads on the various advantages/disadvantages of futures vs equities. In my opinion, it doesn't make a difference whether you call them futures or stocks, so long as you can make money on it (and the tax advantage of the e-mini over stocks helps). Nowadays, I trade almost exclusively the S&P e-mini and stalk a few stocks that I've come to know quite well.
Anyways, with $5000 you could give it a leveraged go.
I would say that there are three stages to a daytrader.
The Threshhold of Surviveability, most traders fail at this point. And statistically speaking, so will you. Be forewarned, 95% of traders flunk out. So your NUMBER ONE GOAL is to be that other 5%. In other words, at the end of the day, DON'T LOSE MONEY. That's right, your goal isn't to MAKE MONEY. It's to SURVIVE. It's a zero-sum game, every point you pull out of the market, you took out of some poor chap's hide. Simply NOT LOSING MONEY puts you at the head of class.
Then there's the Threshhold of Consistency, developing a workable system where you can go into the market and pull out a point. That's right, not 10 or 20 points, but one point. Plan the Trade, Trade the Plan. And CONSISTENTLY do this for days on end without any significant drawdown.
THEN comes the Threshhold of Profitability. Odds are, you will not get there.
Open a futures account and take on the e-minis, be they the Dow e-mini or the S&P500 e-mini. There have been numerous threads on the various advantages/disadvantages of futures vs equities. In my opinion, it doesn't make a difference whether you call them futures or stocks, so long as you can make money on it (and the tax advantage of the e-mini over stocks helps). Nowadays, I trade almost exclusively the S&P e-mini and stalk a few stocks that I've come to know quite well.
Anyways, with $5000 you could give it a leveraged go.
I would say that there are three stages to a daytrader.
The Threshhold of Surviveability, most traders fail at this point. And statistically speaking, so will you. Be forewarned, 95% of traders flunk out. So your NUMBER ONE GOAL is to be that other 5%. In other words, at the end of the day, DON'T LOSE MONEY. That's right, your goal isn't to MAKE MONEY. It's to SURVIVE. It's a zero-sum game, every point you pull out of the market, you took out of some poor chap's hide. Simply NOT LOSING MONEY puts you at the head of class.
Then there's the Threshhold of Consistency, developing a workable system where you can go into the market and pull out a point. That's right, not 10 or 20 points, but one point. Plan the Trade, Trade the Plan. And CONSISTENTLY do this for days on end without any significant drawdown.
THEN comes the Threshhold of Profitability. Odds are, you will not get there.
