I want to become a day trader !

[kayvannouri]

I am a 26 year old just graduated from college of engineering. I have been a swing trader for couple of years and watched every heart beat of the market. Made some money and lost some, but I mostly learned from my looses. I have high tolerance, discipline, and write daily journal for myself and look forward to the future.
anyhow, I have 25k to become a day trader. I have a defined and realistic goal written down and ready to make about $300 per day for now. should be a good start. I will be starting my paper trade tomorrow for the next couple of weeks. I dont have any platform ! everything I read online about day trading is just negative. I rather close my eyes and do it than reading all these negative thoughts which comes from those who didnt make it !
I am determined and I can limit my loss and always have exit plan ! emotions dont get im my way
any suggestion for me to reach my daily goal ?
thanks

[BadThad]

Welcome to SMC!

My advice....be VERY careful and set limits to both the up and down sides. At your age, I would be thinking long term over an unrealistic goal of making $300/day. In the current market, you should be thinking about steady return and compounding. I would recommend at least some of your funds (50%) be used on the high dividend yield plays like WHX, WHZ or ARR. You should be closing watching these and buy when they pull back.

Reserve another part of your money for spec (speculative) plays like VRNG or biotech like GALE. The rest of it you should day trade with or keep in cash, keeping an eye open for bottom plays. NEVER go all in, always have some cash on hand for a hot deal like BP after it crashed post spill (i.e. it dropped from $70 to $29).....those are the opportunities you need to sieze.

....oh....and stay FAR away from OTC/Penny stocks!!!

GOOD LUCK

[fz4fun]

to add to BT's comments-day trading is so volatile and risky-trust me- I have done it and lost a lot of money(six figures worth at times). To seriously attempt day trading you will need a lot more than a 25K start (some serious analysts will suggest a minimum of $250 K to be able to withstand downturn periods in trading). I will add more info if you desire. Feel free to PM me if you like. Swing trading your way up to 100k first is far recommended and always keep money in reserve because a margin call on a bad trade can wipe you out in a hurry.

[erldeckle]

I am with you... except more of a newbie... I am eager to learn and want to have a good starting place.... I however do not have the start up money as you do at this time... wrapped up in other investments. I have paper traded and played stock games. I have even invested in some penny stocks.... any advise for the first solid steps of a newbie?

[CatFish]

never stop paper trading. when you paper trade buy at the ask only and sell at the bid. don't give yourself a false sense about how you play. yes you can buy sometimes at the bid and yes sometimes you can sell at the ask but not that often. hardest part trading is when to sell and take a profit and just as hard is when to sell and take your loss and move on. i still paper trade and been doing this a long time, it will keep you sharp

[BadThad]

Originally Posted by erldeckle

I am with you... except more of a newbie... I am eager to learn and want to have a good starting place.... I however do not have the start up money as you do at this time... wrapped up in other investments. I have paper traded and played stock games. I have even invested in some penny stocks.... any advise for the first solid steps of a newbie?

Stay away from penny stocks until you're an expert. Most new investors LOSE in the pennies, get turned off to trading and never to return. Stick to trading on the major exchanges: AMEX, NASDAQ AND NYSE.

[belle50207]

I see you posted this in august. How has it been going? What do you use as indicators? What platform did you end up using?

[ashishtrifid]

Before you start trading you should set up a few rules for yourself. Limit your losses. You can put a dollar amount on what you will allow yourself to lose in one day, but you must stick to it. Many day traders make the mistake of holding onto stock too long and rather than sell when the stock initially started losing money, they hold onto it thinking the market will change and they can make back what they lost. Instead, they lose even more money than they would have had they sold when the stock hit their loss limit.

[Stockfx]

Originally Posted by kayvannouri

I am a 26 year old just graduated from college of engineering. I have been a swing trader for couple of years and watched every heart beat of the market. Made some money and lost some, but I mostly learned from my looses. I have high tolerance, discipline, and write daily journal for myself and look forward to the future.
anyhow, I have 25k to become a day trader. I have a defined and realistic goal written down and ready to make about $300 per day for now. should be a good start. I will be starting my paper trade tomorrow for the next couple of weeks. I dont have any platform ! everything I read online about day trading is just negative. I rather close my eyes and do it than reading all these negative thoughts which comes from those who didnt make it !
I am determined and I can limit my loss and always have exit plan ! emotions dont get im my way
any suggestion for me to reach my daily goal ?
thanks

Hi, so you want to become a day trader... Well i need to tell you my story as i began my trading carrier same as you. It is now 4 months that am trading but i am still in demo account. Am not rushing out thing and i really want to know the market before stepping into it. I will also advise you to trade maximum in Demo and then when you think you are ready switch to Real. Good luck

[Engtiae]

Originally Posted by kayvannouri

I am a 26 year old just graduated from college of engineering. I have been a swing trader for couple of years and watched every heart beat of the market. Made some money and lost some, but I mostly learned from my looses. I have high tolerance, discipline, and write daily journal for myself and look forward to the future.
anyhow, I have 25k to become a day trader. I have a defined and realistic goal written down and ready to make about $300 per day for now. should be a good start. I will be starting my paper trade aftermarket parts tomorrow for the next couple of weeks. I dont have any platform ! everything I read online about day trading is just negative. I rather close my eyes and do it than reading all these negative thoughts which comes from those who didnt make it !
I am determined and I can limit my loss and always have exit plan ! emotions dont get im my way
any suggestion for me to reach my daily goal ?
thanks

Just keep yourself updated with new tactics. Take small steps and never miss the opportunity.