http://www.trading-naked.com/Articles_and_Reprints.htm allison , here is some cut to the chase reading for you
There's not a lot of good information on these boards. If you have a margin account you don't have to abide by the T+3 settlement rules, meaning your cash is freed up as soon as you sell some stock. Margin accounts vary by brokerage, but generally you need to maintain at least 2,000 dollars in order to keep your margin status. If you make more than 3 round trips in a rolling 3 day window however, you then qualify as a pattern day trader and need to maintain 25,000 in your account. The bottom line is this: if you are actively day trading you need to have at least 25,000, there's no way around it. The following is an example of PDT: I have 10,000 dollars in a margin account, and buy 15,000 worth of stock on margin on Monday. I feel shaky about my position and sell it on Tuesday, which frees up all my capital and now I can purchase another stock on Tuesday. If I really felt bad about my position as soon as I got in on Monday, I could have sold it the same day if I wanted. However, if I do this too much (over 3 times in a 3 day window), I will get flagged as a day trader and be forced to pony up another 15,000 in cash to meet the 25,000 dollar requirement.
Futures trading dos have PDT rule, have higher risk than stocks. pick a less leveraged futures like NQ
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