A question about day trading

hella skinny said: "I do not totally understand just how this day trading process works. When I trade shares, i select "day only" timing. I can then check the order status and it usually says something like "filled- settles on [4 days later]". Ultimately, my funds appear at the price I chose to act on. I know day trading as a concept that allows people to "make large trades that last minutes". What I do not understand is how shares can definitely be traded so quickly. If I buy and then sell in 10 minutes, the exact share prices i traded at will have been executed instantly? The way my orders are filled doesn't really seem to move with that sort of liquidity. I have an account with Schwab. Is day trading particular to certain sorts of platforms, or is it really as simplistic as it appears? The threat of the timing makes me uncomfortable."

jxd1843 said: "The problems you have that you need to address are 1. funds availability 2. settlement dates 3. margin cost 1. what you need is a margin account. That will allow you to borrow against your own funds without crossing regulation T or pissing off FINRA. 2. The reason it takes 4 days, when you buy your broker purchases the certificate from another broker. It takes a few days to mail certificates and verify and transfer funds. They just set the 4 day thing as a general rule to handle that. If you buy with unsettled funds and then sell quickly, you are at risk of taking a FREE RIDE, which is buying on funds you do not have yet. Look it up on your broker's website for more info. 3. Day trading is further complicated by cost. If you take 4 round trips in a given week, you are a SEC category day trader. You then must keep no less than 25,000 in equity value in your account at all times. You also have to calculate your cost of borrowing the margin money to cover yours while in transit. Hope that helps :):verystupid: Just kidding. ALways wanted to use that one"