After several years trading with virtual accounts now the time has come to invest some of my hard earned cash. I am seeking advice from you guys for the best method for me to trade. My account will be small, around $1700, trading a wide range of stocks - I don't trade stock indicies, bonds or commodities only single shares and currencies. My virtual accounts are with spread betting firms as these provide the platform to put into practice my theory, which is now consistantly positive even with the negative spread payout on every trade. I generally cut losses quick and let the winners run which is working for me. I do scalp occassionally on big moves although this is rare. With the small account size I would require leverage. It would be greatly appreciated if you could point me in the right direction of a firm which could cater my needs. Will I keep my bottle? We'll soon see! Playinforkeeps.
I'm not sure, I know there was one person here trading with a 1K account a Jmoery something. Other than that let me move this to prop and maybe someone can help you further.
Most direct access brokers I've seen have a larger opening account balance than that. FWIW, I trade a ~$1200 Scottrade account currently. I'm just an amateur, trying to learn how to trade without losing a ton of money at the same time. Once I'm consistently profitable and ready to go semi-pro, I'm moving up to someone like Interactive Brokers or maybe MB Trading. If you're just an amateur trying to learn with "real money" like me, then at $1700 you're not going to find a lot of direct access places in my experience. Some other prop traders may have a place that you can sign on to to get leverage, but most deals I've heard about require $5k capital contribution at least.