As the moderator of MarketSmith, one of the net’s top real-time, live, chat room dedicated to stock trading, I receive many requests and questions on a daily basis. One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is, “What are the tools I need to day trade?” Many subscribers want to know what broker to use, what kind of computer, how many monitors etc., etc.

I figured I would answer a few of these questions in a public form so hopefully I wont have to answer them repeatedly.

Brokers: I strongly suggest you look into using one of these two investing program: MBTrading or cybertrader pro, with a strong personal bias for MBTrading. My bias is based simply on past experience. Keep in mind we are talking day trading here, not investing. The major things you need to look for is speed of execution and customer service when you’re choosing a provider for daytrading. Many people are really concerned with commissions, but that train of thought can cost you in the end. Since the market for brokerage is so competitive there is little differance in costs, and where there is additional cost there is additional benifit. Poor execution and inadequate customer service can cost you many times more than the savings you might realize by using the wrong broker.

For a long time I’ve been telling people that when you attempt to trade stocks intraday with software that isn’t fast and simple is like trying to win a marathon as a person with no limbs. Be cautious also of people who make recommendations of their own discount broker. Most have never even seen an MBTrading or CyberTrader system. Suffice to say, the differences are drastic.

Quotes and Data Feed: Certain brokers that you choose will require that you provide your own live data feed. I suggest you ask the broker you choose to make a recommendation here. It’s likely that they have had experience with a lot of different data feeds and know what works best with their system. No matter what service you get, two things you need need need is Level II quotes for both the NASDAQ and Dow stock exchanges.

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