I started day trading with $10k in an IB account, being mindful of the PDT limit, usually having a day each week for trading. I lost a bit and gained it back. Then I went in with another $40k and lost a bunch, and while I still have a very comfortable amount in my account, the losses were quite troubling and I have temporarily stopped day trading and am just now starting to swing trade. I could have gone with an offshore broker, but none support Linux users, and commissions are rather high compared to IB, which is pretty low and does have a Linux port of their desktop platform. A $10k account for day trading, even without the PDT restriction, would not be practical as your main source of income, for obvious reasons. The return, while possibly quite high in percentage gains, would not really be a living wage unless you were very very good indeed. If you have time to trade during the normal market hours but still have some form of employment or other income, then a small account would be fine. Remembering, of course, that according to general consensus, 90% of all new day traders FAIL, and for a reasonable chance of success you need to be able to identify some edge that you have over other highly motivated and capable traders who nevertheless did not make the cut.