well, i'm a novice, but not new. between jobs in 90's I took 40K to 180K in 4 mo's, (churning about 10M--in bull market, just before dot.com boom). but I got a job and didn't have time to trade, considered myself fortunate and didn't look back, until now--out of a job again. I don't have much to invest ($ went to a new house), but just started Feb 1 and took 20K to 27K in two weeks. I'm w/Ameritd(T.orSwim) and have the 4x margin now. with the current job market, feeling I might as well try to learn how to do this with less luck and some confidence that I can sustain this. I have a few months of reserves to live off of without too much stress, but then I'd actually need some income from trading. I used to post at Silicon Investor and wasn't impressed with current status, saw posts here, found helpful, and will likely ask for some advice from time to time. cheers for now, Greg