When making the decision to day trade you have to evaluate the likelihood that with training and the right tools you can increase the probability of being profitable to significantly greater than 50% (so you can be convinced you're not gambling). One factor that isn't often considered is the probability of technical errors and their affect on profitability. I've found that my broker (CyberCorp) hasn't been willing to release their bug list to customers. It seems that there are a host of technical problems that occur repeatedly but aren't addressed on any website (that I'm aware of) so that effective solutions might be shared. An example is when confirmations aren't received for an order placed on an ECN and then the software freezes and won't let you get out of a trade. You then have to call a broker at the firm to place your order for you. After minutes on hold the results can be disturbing. Are these things written up anywhere, or is it a matter of each trader learning on their own?
It is a learning process with cyber at least... And sometimes you have to just accept it. For instance, When ARBA announced earnings on thurs I was long 200. I bought another 500 at 40 flat and then Tom Costello went on air and said that their earnings were amazing. The stock poped as high as 46. I tried to put in a sell at 44, but it became a stuck order. Instead of selling at 44 for a 2.5k profit. I couldn't get through to them for 15 mins to sell, and I ended up selling at 41 or so.. Which means I lost a few hundred. I was pissed, but I have learned to deal. These types of things happen all the time with cyber. I guess I could change brokers, but I prefer their platform, and I just deal with the fact that I will loose a k or 2 each month b/c of their software screwups.