Scott:
If you are interested in switching to a daytrading broker with Level II quotes, access to SOES, SNET, ECN's etc. => You have many to choose from such as MB Trading, CyberTrader, Castle Securities. I use Castle, but I don't think any are particularly superior to the rest. The biggest difference would be their respective commission costs and the quality of service. You can find out commission rates from their websites. For service quality, I suppose reading these threads are the best way to learn. I have only used one broker, so I can't give an honest comparison.
You asked about capital requirements, assuming that your looking to make $200-300 per day to start. First I would strongly caution you on how difficult it is to be profitable while daytrading. If you are very good, and fortunate, you will be able to not lose money during the first 3-6 months. Actually making money may also be possible down the road, but your first goal should be to break even, then learn how to improve your results from their.
I'd be interested to know how you got started. The following link summarizes much of my first nine months of daytrading.
Did you take any classes? Read any particular books? I did not take any classes, choosing instead to learn from my mistakes (yielding an unending supply of learning opportunities!) and to learn from watching the market, as well as paper trading. There are no specific books that I think will teach you how to 'make a bundle', but reading daytrading books will be useful in terms of teaching you more about how the details of the markets work. I did like "Electronic Daytrading" by Freitfxyz...(?) However, be cautioned that much of what you will read in a book will be outdated information. For example, the SOES system is currently virtually useless for trading. You will likely find that SelectNet preferencing market makers is also virtually useless. Most successful daytradings use ECN's very heavily these days, as this is the only way to get 'a fair shake' with the Nasdaq markets.
Did you start with simulated online trading. Are you a true day trader or do you hold stocks for several hours or up to a few days? Any particular sites I should go to or day trading groups?
==> Yes. True daytrader, typical trade lasts less than one hour. Best sites to learn: SI sites such as: #1 Daytraders Site: The Final Frontier, Trading for a Living, The Trading Desk, MB Trading, CyberTrader, AB Watley, etc.
Good Luck,
-Eric
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