IB has a free API for building your own automation. If you can do it, I recommend automation over chart reading. See Evidence-Based Technical Analysis by Aronson for more discussion. Unfortunately, as a prior post mentioned, you need at least $25k do to daytrading. That is a NASD requirement that all brokers follow (for securities only). But you can start now on building an automated trading system with IB's API. You don't need an account to download their API.
sounds like you are moving from fundamentals to technicals. They are night and day. It will take you a year or two to get a feel for the speed and volitility of futures markets and how to predict (okay, I hear the chuckles) what will probably happen next. Paper trading can do this for you, you just have to stare at charts and the market for hundreds of hours. Cool, eh!
nothing will prepare you for daytrading like live trading. Unfortunately it usually means you lose some portion of your account learning. You can day trade 3 times a week in any margin account without getting into trouble. I wouldn't think of trying futures at this point as the probabillity of you losing most or more of your account is high as a technical newbie. There are plenty of brokers that offer low account size margin accounts. You'll want someone with decent tools. I wouldn't include IB in that category.
Some are just so afraid of futures for some unknown reason. The above is generally protected against by the broker - so losing more of your account than you have is not likely in this day and age. If daytrading is your goal; then with less than 25k; futures is your only real option. (You already know about forex.) Finding somebody with cheap commissions, sitting down and trading live, 1 at a time is, IMHO, the only way to learn to daytrade effectively. Make 'em pretty, Chris
Not sure where you got I was afraid of futures. I trade futures myself, but I wouldn't throw a complete newbie into that forum without learning on a slower scale first. Yes, most brokers will liquidate your assets at pre-discussed levels but it remains that you can lose majority of your capital before they even learn to trade.
The more I look at think or swim, the more I like it. I've registered now and will open up an account in a couple weeks. In the meantime I *think* that I can start paper-trading there so off we go. Thanks everyone.
Sorry, but is was not an implication that you were afraid, just the idea "you can loose your house trading futures" (I know you didn't say that either.) That is what I was told repeatedly many years ago and as much as I have lost over the years I still have my house. I wouldn't necesarily agree that stocks are a slower forum. Suppose that actually depends on your stock selection. Trade Google and you may have problems trade Sirius and you may be right. You probably would be hard pressed to find something more slow and boring than the 5yr or 2yr notes - excellent learning vehicles. Just avoid news days. I guess thats what makes a trade though....
Well according to the SEC, you need to have 25k in your account at all times minimum to be able to daytrade and not have the 3 day settlement period
Just a quick note that I'm in Canada by the way. With Questrade. Hmm. I do have a margin account. So maybe it is already setup to let me sell, and buy using that money right away. Perhaps the settlement wait-time is just for my balance, but not my trading balance.