When all the positions a trader takes are closed during the same day before the market closes, that’s called day trading. There are a large number of people who dabble in day trades from home. But it needs a lot more expertise than ordinary trading, not to mention a rage of tools and market data. That said, most of the tools are made available by brokers, and trading software can make things even easier.

Day trade volumes are higher because of need to squeeze profits out of small increments in price over a short period. Given access to a margin account, traders can use leveraging to place orders worth many multiples of the account value. This means that traders need to be even more on guard against getting caught up in the heat of the moment.

The safe way to get started is to have a fallback arrangement. As a rule, combined value of all trades at any given time should amount to only a portion of the account value. To remove the human error and emotional aspect, use well-defined day trading strategies that allows for entering and exiting trades at specific prices and can be implemented using trading software.

While order types are many, there are only three or four that are regularly used by traders. For starters, there’s the Market Order. This type of order is placed at the current price, regardless of the last quoted price the trader sought.

Orders that can be placed only at a specific price are called Limit Orders. Another type is the Stop Order, which works like the Market Order, but only if triggered by a specific price. Stop Limit Orders can be placed at the specific price and after it, provided the market moves in the right direction.

The first thing a trader needs is a computer with broadband. The next thing to do is setup a trading account with a brokerage firm. Choose wisely, based on what kind of fees and commissions the broker charges. Also to be considered are the markets the broker can provide access to and the kind of tools available.

Lastly, there are strategies (swing trades, arbitrage, trading news, etc) to be learned and certain paid tools and assets that can be very helpful. To be noted that it is important to get some first-hand exposure before spending money. Even so, once the momentum picks up, some of these day trading tools are near essential, such as access to live market data and trading software.

Find helpful information about Canadian day trading and currency trading software.