Differentiate between a "trade" and a "day trade." Every trader knows what a "trade" is. In order to enter a position, you execute a "trade." In order to exit the position, you execute another "trade." But a "day trade" is a position that requires two "trades." (entry and exit)
The rule is talking about positions or "day trades", which you are confusing with "trades." Also, the Rule only applies to margin accounts, not a cash account. The funds won't be available for trading for three business days or more after exiting a position in a cash account, so you can't trade as often as you want, but you won't encounter the Rule either. Neither does the Rule apply to index futures; trade the market as often as you want in a margin account.
Leave it to the gov't to confuse everything with their own definitions, so that only they can make a proper judgment, only they know anything about what they regulate, and only they can save you from yourself. So much for free markets; gone when the gov't wades in.
You do NOT want to jump right into day trading as a beginner. The mind games and computer algorithms will eat you alive. If you cannot define risk, volatility will eat you alive. If you depend on volatility, as traders do, stagnation in the markets will eat you alive (the markets do nothing two-thirds of the time). If you depend on indicators, the fake-outs will eat you alive. If you depend on earnings and fundamentals, contrary opinion and actual market reaction will eat you alive, etc.
Learn investing first. Determine your time frame and risk level. Learn all you can about risk and good money management techniques. Develop a trade plan and test it on a simulator before you risk a dime.
Read a good book or three, like Investing For Dummies, and the Millionaire Next Door, to get a feel for the markets and what’s available. If you want to learn about trading, read a book by a trader. I you want to learn about investing, read a book by a successful investor, like O'Neil, William J.- How to Make Money in Stocks.
Getting Started In Stocks
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/bas...
Five Minute Investing: How To Evaluate A Trading Strategy
http://www.investopedia.com/university/f...
The Cardinal Sin Of Beginning Investing -- And How To Avoid It
http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analys...
You can also type “how to invest” in the Search Answers box at the top of this screen and get lots of answers, or type “books investing.”
You should try with Penny Stocks Trading (you can find more info here: http://pennystocks.toptips.org)
Penny stocks, also known as cent stocks in some countries, are common shares of small public companies that trade at low prices per share.
I've been subscribing to this PennyStock web site for about a year now and have loved the objective advice they give. He really does look for quality stocks and I've made some pretty nice profits on a lot of his suggestions. Being still fairly new to investing I have been dabbling a lot in penny stocks to try and grow my account. I may not have a big account, but it's a lot bigger than it was a year ago. On just one of Nathan's picks this year I managed to make my investment back ten-fold! Be careful! Penny stocks are notoriously risky but if you follow the right method the risk is almost 0. I suggest to invest only little money first and then reinvest the profits. This is the site I'm using: http://pennystocks.toptips.org
that's one round trip, which is what matters.
I am kind of new to stocks and I'm interested in pattern day trading. However i know there is this rule by the sec that limits you to 4 trades a week if you have less then 25K. However does it mean that if you buy a stock such as Apple in the morning and sell it for a small profit later in the day does that count as one trade or 2 trades?
