Ask HN: Best Online Trading Tools/Resources for Hackers?

I used to work in the financial industry, and while technology and business practices change, here are some things I found out that might be useful to you. Most large commercial trading sites do require substantial deposit to begin trading. Two main reasons why they do this are, to set the bar high enough to discourage tourist trading. People who know very little about the stock market and how it works that will poke their heads and just to try it out. Since the stock market is supposed to be based on knowledgeable people making knowledgeable trades a large influx of people trading haphazardly could have negative effect on the market. Given the past few years I definitely know the irony of this past statement. Secondly being that they have no history with an individual they have to make sure you have a sizable deposit on hand to cover all the different trading options. It is very easy to get in over your head financially we start to deal with options puts and calls.

On the other hand if you're looking to start your own trading you can always purchase software and not really be beholden to a commercial trading firm. However trading software is not cheap. So there is a trade-off with going commercial and putting the money on deposit or being on your own and buying the software upfront.

An option you may want to look into is your own personal bank. Many large banks now have a financial arm. Most not provide self trading accounts to the customers, but there may be some. But if you really want to try it out without too much of an investment, you can always use your bank's broker and make trades for him or her. While it won't be as exciting as daytrading, you can still do your own research and instruct them on what stocks to buy at what price and when to sell them at what price.