Day Trading Basics

What day trading really involves, and its rules and risks.

1. What Day Trading Really Involves — Day traders open and close every position in the same session. Here is what the job actually looks like: the hours, the tools and the costs that add up faster than most people expect.
2. Day Trading Rules: PDT and the 2026 Change — For more than 20 years, the pattern day trader rule required $25,000 in a margin account. In 2026 regulators approved replacing it. Here is what changed, what did not, and why you should check with your broker.
3. Premarket Prep — Most of a day trader’s edge is built before the opening bell. Here is a simple premarket routine: check the calendar, find the stocks in play, mark the levels and write the plan.
4. Opening Range & VWAP Setups — Two of the most widely watched intraday tools are the opening range and VWAP. Here is how each is calculated and how day traders build simple setups around them.
5. Intraday Risk Limits — Day traders survive by capping losses per trade and per day. Here is how to set a per-trade risk, a daily loss limit and the stop-trading rules that prevent one bad morning from wrecking a month.
6. Why Most Day Traders Struggle — Studies of real brokerage records find that only a small fraction of day traders earn consistent profits. Here is what the research shows, why the odds are hard, and what to do if you still want to try.