Don't use Ameritrade. Find a broker that specializes in day trading that will give you cheap commissions and has a more elaborate trading platform. If you're swing trading or just day trading once or twice a day, it's ok - but if you're trading more than that throughout the day - then stay away from Ameritrade, Scottrade, etc...
Some of my history: A friend (?) turned me on to trading in Nov 99. I started reading and learning, but by June 01 I'd lost $50K and gave it up. In hindsight I wasn't trading to any plan nor was I aware of what drove the market in any direction. I just bought when I thought it was the right time and sold when I couldn't take the pain. Recently decided to actually take the time to learn the skill first, using about $1K to swing-trade some options. Then, in one year, after careful study of DTU course, watching market move IAW economic indicators, GDP, etc., and reading several other books, I plan to put $10K into account to trade. I'm going to retire in three years so, if I'm successful, I'll move more capital into account to trade for a living. As for staring at the screen looking for the setup...I love it. I plan to trade opposite the opening gaps, and the 10:00 and 13:30 reversals, as well as breakouts, and channels.
So what have you done this time to prepare your mind to trade (by far the most important part)? I would say to make sure you are psychologically ready first and then next make sure you have a proven backtested method. Start off trading again doing the right things - invest in your mind and prosper from your thoughts!
my advise is not to do it, b/c chances r u will end up blowing your a/c several times over, of course, the lesson is only absorbed after it happens, good luck !
IMO, you would do better to read material relating to risk management and trading psychology as a first step. Managing your risk is truly the most important aspect of trading (it also gets more challenging as you move down to lower timeframes). The technical analysis books are mostly crap. My impression is that most (but not all) intraday traders with a successful edge (including myself) trade price action primarily, and rely very little on traditional indicators. Learning to read price action is something one must do by watching price and not by reading a book. You also need to learn the personality of the market(s) you trade. Despite the fact that some folks here have singled out daytrading as difficult, the truth is that all trading is difficult regardless of timeframe. The attitude you bring to trading also determines how difficult it will be for you. You need to find the style and timeframe of trading that best suits your specific personality, skills, and circumstances (e.g., don't aspire to be a daytrader if you can't devote at least a few hours to watching the market each day). It might take a little exploration to answer that question. Saying you want to be a daytrader without knowing anything about the markets (or about yourself in the context of trading) is like saying you want to be a running back before you ever play football -- by some lucky accident your talent might lie there or you might be a great nose tackle or just a water boy -- you don't know until you learn more. Let us know how it goes. Regards,