You can trade using an offshore broker or you can trade using a cash account and avoid violating the prohibitions against freeriding and violating good faith.  However it is hard to get past the issue of whether you are in a position to daytrade if you do not have $25,000 to commit to it and you don't already know the answers to your questions.  jmho/ymmv

What you need to do (without sounding like Dr Laura) is to pick up a book on the mechanics of investing.  There is a certain amount of risk you undertake when you trade and what is so very important to realize is how you manage that risk.  You need to have firm entry and exit points.  You need to have stop loss orders to if the market tanks in a long position, you dont loose your shirt.  What you need is a plan and you need to stick to it.  There are alot of reasonable strategies out there and you can make any of them work if you take the time to understand them.  I recommend a book by Link: "High Probability trading";  I will reiterate, there are hundreds if not thousands of trading strategies, but to make any of them work you need to develope your strategy and stick to it.

try  www.sogotrade.com   i have an account with less than 25k and can daytrade as much as I want

The 25k limit applies to stocks and equity options, not to futures.  If you want to open a futures account the margin requirements are variable but there is no pre-set dollar amount and no silly uptick rules on shorting.  You can trade an S&P contract if stocks are your thing as many times as you like in one days's time!  Many stock brokers now can handle futures accounts, Interactive Brokers being one of them.

The uptick rule was eliminated over one year ago.

rockerj:

Yeah I'm a bit new to trading. But not a total newbie.

The main thing I'd like to get past is only being aloud to make
3 complete trades in a 5 business day period.

Sometimes I'd like to sell a stock but I can't because of that rule.

If you have a solid trading plan you can make money with the NASD2520 Rule. Save up until you break 25K. Use margin when you can.

It would be really Good if Zecco displays  the Number of Day trades for the last 5 Business days.It will atleast help us to stick to 3 Trades only..

I recommend opening several different accts. broker, traditional and roth with zecco, etrade, ameritrade, and scotttrade. Limit your purchases for those stocks that are in the trough and save your trades for the sells.

Another way to hedge your risk is to day trade in a traditional IRA. Through 2009 I believe, you get a get a 20% tax credit on top of your deduction. With a 10% effective tax rate that means your hedging your risk by about 22%. The pitfall is that you won't see your money till you retire unless you take a penalty. But technically you can lose 22% and still break even.

Put your sure stuff in a Roth. The stocks or mutual funds, etf's etc. that you know will show growth and are less of a risk.

You can avoid a day trade if you sell the stock tomorrow instead of today.  Hold overnight.   Other than that, fund your account with $25k.  Opening a bunch of accounts to day trade would be a waste of time, although it would work.   Don't bother reading a book as stated above.  If everybody had the same strategy, everybody would have the same return.

Pancaf9999:

try  www.sogotrade.com   i have an account with less than 25k and can daytrade as much as I want

No you can't your full of $hit. I just spoke to a Sogotrade.com rep and they do follow the PDT rule.