| If you hang on too long, the up tick will have passed | | | | information from their brokerage dealer. |
| and the stock could plummet. More times than not, | | | | 4. Learn technical analysis tools such as range trading |
| people wait too long and as a result they don't make | | | | or strength index so that you can double check the |
| money. | | | | indicators leading you to buy or sell before you |
| If you are new to trading stocks, it would make | | | | actually do it. |
| sense to start with pretend trading. There are plenty | | | | Before you start trading you should set up a few |
| of sites that allow you to trade virtually. This means | | | | rules for yourself. Limit your losses. You can put a |
| that you are not using real money, yet you are | | | | dollar amount on what you will allow yourself to lose |
| choosing your stocks, buying and selling as if it were | | | | in one day, but you must stick to it. Many day |
| real. You will accrue pretend gains and pretend losses. | | | | traders make the mistake of holding onto stock too |
| Don't laugh! Many people started out this way and | | | | long and rather than sell when the stock initially |
| then went on to make money when they felt | | | | started losing money, they hold onto it thinking the |
| confident enough to become a real day trader | | | | market will change and they can make back what |
| investing their real money. | | | | they lost. Instead, they lose even more money than |
| Although the name is day trader, some day traders | | | | they would have had they sold when the stock hit |
| hold on to stocks for as long as three weeks. They | | | | their loss limit. |
| make these decisions based upon market indicators. | | | | Don't invest every penny you own in day trading. |
| In order to educate yourself about the market you | | | | That simply is not smart. Just as if you would like to |
| will need to get your hands on some day trading | | | | hold a stock portfolio of diversified stocks, you also |
| tools. | | | | don't want to put all of your eggs into the day |
| 1. First you will need a computer with internet access. | | | | trading. |
| Your computer should be equipped with a fast CPU | | | | You do not have to trade every day to call yourself |
| speed in order to process the trading charts and | | | | a day trader. Skip a day if you need to attend to |
| graphs quickly. | | | | other business or if you aren't up to the task. It is |
| 2. You need to set up a day trader brokerage | | | | better to be able to focus your full attention to day |
| account. There is an initial investment of a minimum | | | | trading than to participate half-heartedly. |
| $500 to $2,000 depending upon the brokerage dealer. | | | | Now that you have an idea of what it takes to be a |
| 3. Because you are trading in such a compressed | | | | day trader, do you still want to do it? If so, do an |
| period of time, you cannot wait for delayed | | | | Internet search for virtual day trading to start your |
| information, so you will need access to real time | | | | practice. |
| market data. Many day traders prefer to get this | | | | |