Not long ago, day trading was an activity reserved by professional speculators and financial firms, where employees specialized in fund management and equity investment. Electronic and margin trading has now made day trading a possibility for people at home. At home day traders will frequently buy and sell financial instruments, such as stocks, stock options, securities, and more within a single day, hoping to make a profit off of the high volume of trades.

If you are considering day trading, there are several aspects of the activity that you should know about before jumping in.

1. Have a day trading plan.

There are many elements to consider when developing a good trading plan, so here are just a few to start with. Determine for yourself how much of your portfolio you are willing to risk. Set a percentage, and if you reach that level of loss resolve to quit trading for the day to protect the rest of your portfolio. You should also set exit rules in your plan, so that you do not waffle on whether or not to sell, and take your chances as a stock drops. Also create entry rules, where certain conditions must objectively be met so that you can decide whether or not to buy. Setting rules will prevent you from taking risks you cannot afford.

2. Sign up for online day trading training.

About 25 percent of traders who lose money each day online trading will eventually become profitable after a learning curve of about three to five months. It is wise to resist the urge to jump right in without spending at least a few months learning more about the ins and outs of trading. Do you know about all the different strategies, are you familiar with market data? Find a good training program and you will be ahead of the game when you start trading.

3. Use the resources available.

Professional trading tools, research, analysis, and customer support, if necessary, are all useful resources to improve your chances of success. Forex trading is one online trading site that can help you to access and develop these three resources, and also help you with training and developing a plan. Approximately 70 percent of day traders will lose money, so it is very important to have a plan, get training, and access what resources are available from sites like Forex trading.