Lee W

Nice setup, Carlos! I love the mouse pad that looks like a mini rug! How do you like the Evodesk? Is that a 48" top? How's the stability at various heights?

I'll be purchasing a sit/stand desk, as well. I've been reading and watching a lot of reviews as well as getting feedback from chat members. Here is a useful link that covers MANY desks: Beyond The Office Door - Review of 18 desks Within that link, you'll find another link to their 4 favorite desks. Be aware that one of the desks, the VertDesk v3 is their own product. While it placed 1st in their lineup of the top 4 (imagine that! haha), they still seem to do a fair review of all of the desks. One desk that isn't mentioned in their reviews is the ApexDesk. Brendon has the 60" 2 button version and likes it. I'm strongly considering this one. It is the only one that has the cylindrical legs. I wonder if this improves stability. If you go to stores that carry desks, you'll soon find how some of these have some definite stability issues when raised. The stability tests in the BTOD link above will show the differences re: stability, as well. ApexDesk Vortex Series 6-button on Amazon and ApexDesk site Good luck! Let us know what you decide!

HAHHAHA!! This is fantastic. I wasn't watching the monitor when this happened, but I heard him! You see him read the chat, someone must've said, "CNET," he looked, and "AHHH GD! CNET at $7!!" lolol This has got to be the best chatroom ever. :)

I think most people select tiered. Based on my trade journal, tiered has been less expensive. The DAS site gives direction on how to get the subscription and link it to your IB account. When you go to their site, click SUBSCRIBE at the top. Choose "For Interactive Brokers." The next screen shows the steps. http://dastrader.com/ Also, here's a DAS video on linking them:

Thank you for posting, Ken! I’m going to take a closer look at these indicators because reversals interest me.

This question is for the full time traders. Well, I guess it could be answered by anyone, actually. If your main (or only) source of income is from trading, how do you pay yourself? Do you transfer a fixed amount from your brokerage every month? Twice a month? Do you transfer only the profits (whatever amount over the balance you keep as your minimum) on a fixed schedule? I’m curious how traders handle this. Would love to hear some feedback. Perhaps you’ve not started this yet but you have a plan. Feel free to share! Thanks!

This was profitable and frankly, a lot of fun to trade yesterday! Andrew, it was great to have you back in the room during the afternoon. Thanks for trading with us!

This is a very helpful link. Thanks for posting it! I recall reading through it a few times while doing research.

Awesome example. I missed the class last Friday but will definitely watch the recording. Thank you!!

This is great news. Hopefully we will have some feedback from users soon.

The last I saw, people were complaining that their VWAP indicator wasn't accurate or it wasn't the same as everyone else's. Is that still the case? I'd like to hear from others that use TWS, too.

A couple of us in the chat have been discussing the issue of tax (planning/preparation/etc) as it relates to day trading in the U.S. (IRS). I've done quite a bit of research on the topic as I've been preparing my own taxes for the last decade+. 2018 will be the first year as a trader, so I had some studying to do. Before I get into the nuts & bolts, let me make the disclaimer: I'm not a professional. Please do your own research, consult a professional, etc. I'm not giving advice nor am I suggesting any one thing or another. The information below is solely based on what I've found through the IRS site, TurboTax, and other resources. First, the IRS considers you one of two: an investor or a trader. If you're a (Trader Tax Status), the law considers this to be a business. There are no clear and concise numbers as it relates to activity for what constitutes a trader vs an investor. The IRS, publication 429, states this: - You must seek to profit from daily market movements in the prices of securities and not from dividends, interest, or capital appreciation; - Your activity must be substantial; and - You must carry on the activity with continuity and regularity. Link to IRS Publication 429 So once it is established that you're a trader and not an investor, we look to what forms are necessary. Those appear to be: Form 1040, Schedule D (Capital Gains and Losses) Form 8949 (Sales and Other Dispostions of Capital Assets)...to break down all the transactions) Form 1040, Schedule C (Profit or Loss From Business (Sole Proprietorship)... since as a trader, the IRS considers your a business, you report your business expenses here. Many of us use or plan to use Interactive Brokers. If you're using TurboTax (online version), IB is not a partner of TurboTax. Therefore, all of the transactions won't directly upload into your filing. I've read that some people use software/service such as Gainskeeper or TradeLog. Gainskeeper is listed as a TurboTax partner. All of this is basically to complete Form 8949. With that said, I did also discover that the IRS grants exceptions to Form 8949. Form 8949 states this: Note: You may aggregate all short-term transactions reported on Form(s) 1099-B showing basis was reported to the IRS and for which no adjustments or codes are required. Enter the totals directly on Schedule D, line 1a; you aren't required to report these transactions on Form 8949 (see instructions). This is good news. So assuming you get a 1099-B from your broker, it shows the appropriate information, and a copy is sent to the IRS, you can mark the checkboxes on 8949 for Part I, checkbox A, and Part II, checkbox D. Open the form in the link above and you'll see what I'm talking about. It appears you don't have to show all of the trades (hundreds or more) you completed during the year. Thank goodness, because that would be a HUGE pain in the ass. Here is the TurboTax AnswerXchange link I found that first showed me this: TurboTax AnswerXchange - question re: how to report Scroll to the top. One last important piece of information that I found is in regards to Self Employment tax. Many say that you'll owe SE tax to the IRS since you're in business for yourself (as a sole proprietor) as a trader. That's not the case. You have to have Earned Income in order to pay Self Employment tax. Capital gains is not Earned Income. Form 429 clearly states: Gains and losses from selling securities from being a trader aren't subject to self-employment tax. When you open the link above for Form 429, the "Traders" heading shows this. Finally, this was a helpful link for me. It contains a lot of information on this very topic. It also mentions the Section 475 Mark-to-Market election. Trader Tax Status - Green Trader Tax So that's what I've found so far. I was a bit discouraged at first, thinking I would have to use another vendor (e.g.: Gainskeeper, Tradelog, etc) to track the information, but it it appears I won't have to. Of course, there are CPAs that specialize in taxes for traders, so that may be something to consider. I'm not sure on that yet. First, I wanted to educate myself on how it's all done in case I decide to do it all myself. If others have experience with this, please feel free to chime in. Thanks!

I'll get this started. My name is Lee and I'm in Atlanta, GA. I'm somewhat new to day trading, but not new to swings and long term investing. I've been studying various types of trading for years and have been successful at swings and long term. After a 15 year stint in corporate and municipal finance, I decided it was time for something else. Day trading has become that. I'm in the DAS simulator now and am learning new strategies, risk management, and understanding the psychology of trading. I'm grateful that I found Andrew and this group. So far, I'm enjoying it and am looking forward to a successful career. So speak up! Introduce yourself!

Really nice, clean setup. Well thought out, too. Nice!

Brilliant! Thank you, Robert. I chatted with DAS about a shortcut and they weren't helpful at all! This is great!

Hahaha. I missed so much by logging off early!

This is going to be fantastic. Thanks, Robert!

Woohoo! Thank you!! -Lee