KHarp83

Hey mlestina, Not really sure. They've been around for a while. It's probably not really relevant to many, especially if you have more than 25k. My account was over 25k for a while and all I needed was IB. But once I fell under 25k I needed to find an additional broker so that I could 1) have more than 3 trades; and 2) continue to use DAS. I thought about CMEG, but didn't want to go offshore, and just seeing the complaints in chat about the short availability kinda turned me away from that direction. -Kyle

Hi Everyone, Just wanted to share a few brief thoughts on my new broker Venom (an offshoot of Cobra Trading). Cobra is a small brokerage based in Texas that uses IB as its clearing firm. They do require a 25k initial deposit to open a margin account. If you don't have 25k (like me), they have the smaller firm, called Venom, which only requires 5k to open an account. Because they clear through IB, you get the same margin limits (4:1), and you can use DAS. I already had an account w/ IB for a few years, but was forced to withdraw a substantial amount of my funds from that account which brought me under PDT. I wanted to open another account so that I would at least have 6 trades instead of just the 3, as per PDT, but only wanted to do so if I could continue to trade through DAS. So, now I have my original account through IB, an account w/ Venom, and both are linked through DAS. I pay $150 for my IB account and an additional $50 for my Venom account. Again, because Venom clears through IB, the execution times, shorts available, ect., are all the same. I think it is a really great option for anyone trading w/ a small account who may want more that just 3 trades per week, as per the PDT rule. Hope this helps, Kyle

@mlestinaI have two linked accounts through DAS. One with IB and the other with Cobra (Venom). Cobra is a brokerage based in Texas. But in order to trade through Cobra you have to have a minimum of 25k, which I don't so I use there smaller brokerage, which is Venom. Venom does require a 5k deposit. Because Cobra (and Venom) uses IB to clear trades (as many other smaller brokerages do) you can use DAS for both an IB and a Venom account. I pay an additional $50 on top of the $150 I pay for my IB account. This is a really great option if under PDT as you'll essentially have 6 trades per 5 business days. This is the link to link accounts w/ Venom: https://www.dastrader.com/form-sub-venom.html

Overcoming / bouncing back from really tough losses or losing periods Strategies for scaling up (when/how you know you are ready) Creating greater accountability: Finding trading buddies or creating your own accountability group

Hi Kyle, Man, your hotkeys have been a life saver for me. Is there any way to set up a hot key that simultaneously sets a stop and a profit target once you enter a position? Thanks!

Hi Everyone, my name is Kyle. I've been day trading for a year now. I've been wanting to join the community for a while and am now happy that I did. Hope this doesn't discourage anyone who is just starting out. I've had a pretty rough time as a trader so far. Lots of inconsistency and losses over the past year. I guess you could say the only thing I am consistent at is losing. I know it's all a part of the learning process (I try to look at it as paying tuition), and I'm trying my best to be patient and to maintain a long-term perspective. The last five weeks have been particularly difficult though. I've literally had one green day. To say the least, it was quite demoralizing when I finally convinced myself to go back to the sim. I've been in other chatrooms and never really felt a sense of community or genuine mentorship. I guess that's what drew me here. Anyway, hope I didn't discourage anyone. I'm sticking with it and am looking forward to connecting with some of you guys here at BBT.