There are five things that every day trader needs. Without them, a day trader can\’t really function or make money for that matter. The five things that a day trader needs includes a broker, an internet connection, a computer, a trading platform, and an account with a broker.

Online Broker: An online broker is the equivalent of a traditional broker that comes with floor trading. Without an online broker, transactions between buyers and sellers are impossible. Unlike traditional brokers, online brokers play a less active role because decisions to push through or pull out financial tools from the market arent in their hands. Rather, these decisions are now in the hands of traders themselves. Online brokers are only intermediary, providing traders with trading platforms and maintaining their accounts.

Internet: An internet connection is the heart of online trading. Without it, online trading will not exist. Online brokers require traders to have internet speeds at par with their platforms and these requirements vary among providers.

When buying a computer or finding an internet service provider, make sure that they meet the minimum requirements of your trading platform. These minimum requirements were imposed to help day traders ensure that their platforms will run smoothly and without delay. If the computers specs are less than the minimum requirements and internet speeds arent at par with recommendations, a trading platform cant be counted on in delivering accurate information by the minute. Commands such as the selling and buying of financial tools can also be delayed.

Account: Setting up an account with an online broker is really important because that is where a day trader keeps his investments. Of course, the amount available in an account should be sufficient. Online brokers usually require accounts to have a minimum of $5,000.

Finally, its very important that you set up an account with an online broker because the money in there will serve as your investment. If you dont have enough balance to buy financial tools, you wont be allowed to day trade. An account is usually required to have a minimum balance of $5,000 and day traders can add more if they want to buy stocks and sell them later.

If you would like to learn more about day trading and even the interesting world of futures trading you should definitely check out a great day trading school called The Day Trading Academy.