ChildsPlay, It seems like a lot of the respondents here weren't really listening to what you were saying and asking. As was mentioned, a lot of the people here trade for a living and $2k is not enough to try and trade with to support yourself. You can trade with $2k but be very aware that trading securities, which is probably what you are talking about, is not an easy thing to do and is actually quite difficult to do successfully. This is especially true in this market at this time. This isn't the bull market of a few years ago where you could just buy most any tech stock and make big returns on your capital. I'd advise you to do some homework first. Read some books, view some videos, check out some websites (this one is great - read the posts). There is a lot to learn to be a successful trader and the less you know the more likely you are to lose your capital. When you are first learning you'll make many mistakes and each mistake, which becomes a lesson if you learn from it, costs you money. Period. Unless of course you are paper trading, which I think is a good idea to begin with, although others may disagree. I have to get to bed, but here are a few links to get you started. http://www.DayTradingtheMarkets.com/ which has an article I see on "Do you really need a lot of money to play the stock market?" and many other very good resources. Plus Yahoo has many good groups that relate to trading. http://groups.yahoo.com/ Type in trading stocks or day trading. The About.com section on Day Trading also has some information http://daytrading.about.com/mbody.htm Good luck to you and feel free to ask more questions and don't be discouraged by people trying to put you down for being new to this. There are people here and elsewhere that will try to help you if you ask as others have helped us along the way. That's what these forums should be for.
ChildsPlay, Focus on understanding and observing the markets first, if you haven't had much exposure before. Speaking from my experience, I'd say that's the most important. Don't fall prey to getting-rich-quick mentality. IMO, I don't recommend starting out by daytrading. Read some good books, subscribe to a good market service or two, and spend some time just watching how the markets--and the indicators (e. g., gold, bonds, stocks, e-minis, VIX, TICK and TRIN)--trade in relation to one another IN REAL TIME each day. This is good for you even if you don't daytrade. Do your own analysis. And remember that there are times when you just want to give up on yourself and those market gurus with their stockpicks. Giving up on market gurus would be good for you, because it implies that you are on the road to developing a trading style (and methodology) that suits your own personality. It means that you are becoming an independent trader capable of thinking for yourself. (I am not saying that you shouldn't learn from market veterans. What I am saying is that you will never get anywhere as a trader if you depend on them exclusively.) As to papertrading, some people find it useful. I have never done that. But I do believe that when real money is on the line, your attitudes change. Don't let trading consume you. If you aren't leading a balanced life, the profit and loss in your trading account shows. The bottom line is: Spend your $2K educating yourself about the market rather than throwing it away at the beginning. Don't forget that those who are more knowledgeable and experienced are more than glad to take that money from you. Believe me, if I could start all over again, I would have done the same thing, just as I said. Hope you'll know what I mean somewhere down the road. Good luck, stock.
profitseer good point about the experience, and this person _has_ said "I don't need to make a living". Wow, a lot of people here seem to disagree with the idea that it's a bad thing to start any type of trading with 2k. A bit of a surprise for me. ChildsPlay, I want to reiterate "Absolutely not trying to discourage you, you CAN start with 2K and make it... it's just really really unlikely". I think I'll stick with the last part - that was my only point. I'm sure you would do what I am trying to do - that is educate yourself and get a game plan and then try to execute it. There is a lot of help on these threads and at other sites, as you can see by some of encouraging advice you are getting here. Others here feel you _can_ make a go of it and gain valuable experience at least. I truly wish you the very best if you decide to give it a go. In terms of brokers, IB would be the best but you may need slightly more than $2000 as was suggested earlier.
and I blew out my account with Datek. The thing is, $9.99 per trade just eats up so much of your equity that you are thinking about breaking even every time you start a trade and of course, on a 100 shares of sub $20 stock, that means you need to get at least 0.20, which also means that your profit objective on short term is probably around 0.50 and your stop loss can't be that low cause you have such a big commission. It's very tough to trade on 2k, even with margin (which is dangerous for a beginner). I have learned a hell of a lot and I am profitable now but it's been quite a ride (margin calls and such, not pretty)
top traders do not "get their feet wet" 90% chance you will lose your 2k, if you lose your 2k where will you get the money to continue trading? Even if you learn some things through trading you will not be able to continue your education without more tuition... YOU ARE UNDERCAPITALIZED, and uncommitted.
Ok, ChildsPlay.....I would say you are restricted to longer term trading than most of us are used to. My suggestion is to buy BRK.B when it is at $2,000-$2,100 a share and ride it up to $2,500 a share. This way your transaction costs are tiny and it is a VERY good stock. Or learn to swing trade and buy some QQQ. If you don't mind some risk. Hope this helps.
Child's play; You may or may not need more capital. High probability you might need more ,however i figure some thing else you have going for you is you can probably replace 2k. Very few people have gone to medical school on 2k. Probably some have .[gifts]Working stock charts are like a doctor reading X-RAYS ,William o' Neil writes. Might swing trade $200.00[per trade] aproximately;only after your paper trades do real well. I have lost more day trading over the years than swing trading over the years.I wasn't at the top of my typing class; did real well in reading. Study enough & see how the MM & specialist help you in swing trading gaps. Paper trades dont mean a good trend in your equity account but if you cant show a paper profit you won't show a real profit. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Tudor Jones quote ''Don't overtrade and by the grace of God I was in the right place at the right time.''