There are a few "prop" firms that really do nothing more than allow a loophole for the PDT rule. I trade with Harmon trading right now with about 5k. As many trades per diem as I want. But the commision is high ($9.99 each way) PM me if you wanna know more.
EchoTrade or Bright Trading will give you 20:1 leverage. I trade with Echo they sponsored me I passed the test it isnt hard. I'm no rocket scientist just study you'll pass you have 20k thats more than enough. If you have no experience make sure you get some training first. Keystone Trading has a great 3 day course.
Harmon is the rape of the century. I used to trade with them those commissions will kill you, and after the Tuco Trading issues I think its easier to just not to mention cheaper to just get a series 7.
I don't always have 25K in my trading account, so I either trade futures (equity index or currency), or I trade options. Options work well, as you can always sell something else to partially hedge your position. For example: Say you're long the Dec $25 call on Acme Explosives. You want to liquidate the position, but can't afford another "day" trade. Rather than selling the long call, you can either sell short the Nov $25 call or the Dec $27.5 call. It's not a perfect hedge, but the Nov $25 will be pretty close. Another method is to play both sides: buy the $25 call (hopefully when the stock is rising), then buy the $30 put (hopefully at a point where you're "up" already on the call). Once you're locked into both sides, you can then wait and see what the market wants to do. Sometimes I'll sell the winner at some point and keep the loser looking for a reversal. This time of the month, within 2 weeks of expiration, I start looking to be long the next month contracts and sell short the current month contracts to take advantage of the rapid decay. This is essentially how I now trade options (having learned the hard lessons of naked leverage). I will let my position be exposed for brief times when I've got a winner going, but I like to hedge it overnight or if I can't watch it live. That way, a black swan event is not an account wrecker for me. My profits are more consistent, if not downright boring, but it's nice to be able to walk away from the screen without the tension of holding a position vulnerable to an adverse market movement. Best of luck to you. AM.
You should not be daytrading then. There are plenty of ways to make good money in the market that does not require daytrading. If you think the only way to earn a living from the markets is daytrading, then you have a long way to go before you should think of trading period.