Cheap way to start trading stocks.

[MonrieEi]

Okay so originally I started wanting to learn stocks. I was gonna make my first trade with my upcoming tax return.

I got really sidetracked with poker.
SO I have 2 questions.

The first one is, what is the cheapest way to start trading stocks without online brokerages taking anything (if anything) I earn? If started even with (tradeking) and I did 2 trades a week that'd be $10 dollars. With $100 dollars I'd have to be making 10% weekly to cover that. If only any of us were that great..

My 2nd question, is it even worth it to learn? Can you truly make another income from this? What does the average trader make % wise yearly?
I know that's a tough question but personal experience?

I've found that I can up my poker bankroll 5% a night easily, granted I'm playing low stakes, and the higher I move up in stakes the harder that will be.

Do any of you do both?

[MSadlier]

And the reason I'm looking for a cheap method to start trading is because I learned through poker that there's a learning curve, and that learning curve cost money.

[MurakNank]

TradeLikeSpock said: ↑
Oh and on commissions--I don't even think about it. Gotta have a well funded account to make it worthwhile.
That's all fine and dandy, and I know the potential to make money is there but you could say the same exact things about poker. It's the same dream being sold, money.

My main question is if there's anyway to leverage a small account to start trading and make it worth while? I had a guy at a poker table talking to me about binary options but it sounds a lot like blackjack to me because you're playing against the house.

[NafalemjiB]

Answer to your question: get a margin account--that's how you leverage it. Want more leverage? Try FOREX trade which clocks in at usually 50:1 leverage.

Downside is if you get it wrong you owe money. I treat my trading like a business so I don't worry about such things. I don't recommend going margin until you can prove to yourself you have the discipline and that you can grow your money.

Author of Stock Mar

[natashamu60]

TradeLikeSpock said: ↑
Answer to your question: get a margin account--that's how you leverage it. Want more leverage? Try FOREX trade which clocks in at usually 50:1 leverage.

Downside is if you get it wrong you owe money. I treat my trading like a business so I don't worry about such things. I don't recommend going margin until you can prove to yourself you have the discipline and that you can grow your money.
Yes that's exactly what I wanted to know.
Different commodities do offer different leverage then?
So forex is 50:1.
What about options?
And stocks margin account goes to about 2:1 right?

I haven't developed a strategy yet, in order to do so I'd like to figure out what commodities to trade first.

I know what I'd like to do is play very tight and conservative. But when I do have a really good position to play it with aggression.