How to Day Trade for a Living

Trading Platform and Market Data
Fast trade execution is the key for day trader success. You need to be able to move in and out of
trades quickly. If your broker doesn't use a software or platform that has hotkeys, you're not
going to get in and out of trades fast enough. I can't tell you how many times I've been up a
thousand dollars because all of a sudden the stock spikes. When stock spikes, you want to be
able to put money in your pocket and profit from it quickly. You definitely don't want to be
fumbling with your orders. You need quick executions, which is why I highly recommend a
good broker and a fast order execution platform.
I use DAS Trader (
www.dastrader.com
) as my trading platform. DAS systems provide one of
the most efficient execution solutions for online brokers, institutional trading desks and traders
worldwide that demand smarter execution services.
On a literally 24/7 basis, I have found their support team incredibly helpful and competent.
DAS servers are collocated with NASDAQ data centers. You cannot be any closer to the market
for trading than this. DAS Trader is not a broker, but you can link your trading account to its
platform for fast order execution. Some brokers will offer you the DAS platform when you open
an account but IB has its own platform that I do not recommend. I have a subscription to DAS
and they have linked my IB account to the DAS platform.

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Watch List and Scanner
I talk to new traders almost every single day. I talk to hundreds of traders every month. One of
the common themes among new traders is not knowing what to trade. Thousands of stocks are
moving in the market every single day, but finding a setup that is both consistent and a good fit
is really hard. I use Trade Ideas software (
www.trade-ideas.com
) for scanning the market and
finding good trades. I explained my scanners and watch list building in Chapter 4 and I will
explain in detail later in this book what I am looking for with my scanner as well as my trading
strategies. You will also see some pictures of my scanner in the sections that follow. If you join
our free private chatroom, you will see my scanner online in real time and will be able to
observe how I use it.

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