RTrader

I think you should try it. If you are swing trading on daily charts, and entering at the close of the day using limit orders (I assume RH allows limit orders) then seems like it would not matter what they do with your order. Yes execution is probably slow, but for swing trading none of that matters. You are going for the big moves. Which also means commission shouldn't matter. For swing any broker works. I know a guy who is a total fool when it comes to trading. Knows nothing and uses Schwab. He is up over $4 million on AMRN he bought in the $2 range. So it doesn't take anything fancy to make serious money! Good luck!

These work because you are placing a limit order at or above the ask. When the price bids back to those orders they get filled. You can also enter in limit orders on pullbacks to short or add them where you want to get short anywhere above the ask. When the stock goes back to those prices you get filled if the shorts are available.

I think this is just personal preference. At least it is for me. I only highlight the top bid and ask. All other prices below are one color so it's all easy to read and not too much flickering. It's good to set it up so it's easy on your eyes. This is what mine looks like in Lightspeed.

I also have used Ninjatrader for years. But I trade futures with it. It works OK for stocks too although the TWS API is pretty terrible and I don't recommend it for quick scalping. It just isn't as fast as DAS. But if you must, then you would want to purchase the Kinetick realtime data for stocks. You can connect that and then TWS (IB) to get a live trading platform for stocks with fast realtime data. The platform is really best used for futures but it can work for both. I have the lifetime license which also gets you volume profiling tools and order flow. This is a great thing to use for stock trading that hardly anyone utilizes. Another great option is Tradingview.com Get the realtime data feed and use it for all your charting and execute trades with something else. Anyone looking trade with less $ then try the micro-futures. If the PDT rule is starting to get under your skin, then try futures where there is no PDT and you can trade with hardly anything now if you trade the micro contracts.

If you have emotional problems or anxiety, then from my experience and learning from professional traders, is that meditation is a very important practice that anyone pursuing trading needs to add to their morning routine. I personally think it is way more important than trading prep, such as reviewing stocks, and making trade plans around what is moving pre-market. When the market opens, anything can happen. Meditation allows you be aware of how you are feeling, and reacting to that. It gives you a chance to change your behavior before it destroys your day. I meditate every day at least 10 mins in the morning. I also like to do it at night. It has a cumulative effect

I think any broker based in the US has to comply with the PDT. That is cool to hear that in Canada though, it does not apply for IB. Interesting... I assume you need to be able to prove you are a Canadian citizen, and not just live there or something on a tourist visa. But, you could also look into trading futures instead of stocks. On May 6th micro index products are coming out. They have low leverage and low margin requirements to trade the SP500 (ES), Nasdaq (NQ), Dow (YM), and Russell (TF) indexes. Futures have no PDT rule, and you can always go long or short. There are many benefits that I could go on and on Otherwise CMEG is the best stock broker option from what I hear.

Fernando, Definitely stay positive. How a trader handles losses, even bigger ones is going to be the difference between success and failure over the long term. That seems to be the main difference between winning traders and ones that don't make it, is how they deal with the losses and drawdowns. Focus on positive thinking and moving forward. I found that avoiding negative terms like don't really help. Instead say, "I will make 100 dollars today"... I will follow my rules, stops, max loss etc. Good luck!

Good luck to you and I look forward to seeing more posts about this. I do think that developing your own style is really important and comes with experience most likely in a real money environment.

You can without shorting. It actually helps you only focus on long setups. Helps to keep your mind clear from thinking long and short constantly! The less decisions you have to make, the better.

Yes you can DT in an IRA. You have to use a broker that has settlement margin. IB has this, Tradestation, and now Lightspeed also has it for IRA's. This way your cash balance will be available right away after a trade is closed rather than the 2 day settlement time you have to wait for a normal cash account which is what most IRA's are. As with any 'margin' accounts, the PDT rule applies. You can also trade futures in an IRA to really boost your buying power, but I don't recommend it unless you have an edge trading futures. You cannot short stocks or use buying power over your cash balance. But, you can trade inverse ETF's to gain on sell offs or trade put options. I personally use my IRA to DT because I'm not living off trading income, and IRA's also have the benefit of no taxes to report or owe at the end of the year on gains. In a normal account you can lose a major chunk of your gains just in short term gains tax. I think the biggest issue with it, is you cannot just re-load the account if you lose a bunch of money. So manage your risk tightly in an IRA. Hope this helps. J