Have a nice (and profitable) day,

Daniel

Those 10 years included some trading done part-time, and also with a fairly small capital base. Roughly, I would say it took about 3 years fulltime to get to the stage where I could say that I was disciplined and skilled enough to have confidence in my abilities to make a life-long career from daytrading. Everyone is different, so I hestitated saying the above, but since you asked so nicely, I did.

How long do you consider it took you to become at least a basic good trader? from your posts you have been around 10 years (master level?) but from 0 to good enough, how long did it take you?

Thanks a lot once again,

Daniel
Going through the learning process!

You are very welcome.

I use only the ATP (advanced trading platform) that my broker provides (see my reply to David above regarding the minimum features of an ATP that are required for daytrading).

I used to use several monitors, but now use just one. I can setup many layouts, each one consisting of four pages. However, I use only one layout, and flip through its four pages (see my post ININ, an anatomy of a Friday morning daytrade, at TraderMike’s, regarding my layout setup–all my posts are together via the category Michelle B’s post, on the left of his site).

I am particularly fond of the low/high ticker–it gives me a feel for the general pulse of the market in realtime, pre, during regular hours, and afterhours. I can determine, since I know most stock symbols, by glancing at it, which sectors are up or down, if the market is perky or sluggish, bearish or bullish, and if any particular stock is tubing or ramping very hard. It took several months or so for me to learn how to use the low/high ticker to my advantage. It can be distracting, especially if it is on the main page or screen, as it is in my case. But I love it, it is the pulsing market for me, keeps me attached and alert to the real market existing outside of my turret.

The premarket gainer/loser scan is also very important for my style of trading, as I do not keep a watchlist per se. I may keep a few stocks that catch my interest via the low/high ticker on my pages for a few days, but that is about as close as I get to keeping a watchlist.

In addition to these 2 scans, I browse through sites premarket for news that happen since the close of the previous trading day (it is 10 pm my time when it is 4pm NYC time). These 2 scans and my searching news (check the ININ post for what news sites I check) are how I get fresh trading vehicles each and every day.

What trading soft(s) do you use to analize the market?
Which ones you could not live without?
If so, how many monitors do you use to daytrade?

Thanks a lot in advance,

Daniel V.

Note to Fernando: I incorrectly typed Interactivebrokers as ‘International brokers,’ in my response to your question.

Fernando – there are several brokers who allow opening an account from overseas. I live overseas and have or had accounts with:

Interactivebrokers (that’s my current broker)
MB Trading (some countries restricted)
TradeStation
Ameritrade
Datek

Good luck.
Eyal