Inside the Dog-Eat-Dog World of Day Trading

When Kevin Ross was a stockbroker in Phoenix, Ariz., and the pressure got to be too much, he would slip into a dark room and drape a wet washcloth over his forehead. He wasn't playing with his own money in those days, but the stress could be pretty brutal nonetheless. Then Ross had an epiphany: embrace the pressure and go for broke. Last February he gave up his six-figure income and moved to San Francisco to become a day trader.

He would spend his days planted in front of a sophisticated trading screen, trying to squeeze profits out of tiny changes in stock prices and bid-ask spreads and never holding on to anything past the closing bell. It seemed like a terrific idea and a way to get rich. MORE >>