I started trading full time in July 07. I currently hold both short postions and long positions. By long I mean a day, hour, week, it depends on the volume, pr and if I've created enough of a base investment in the stock. I manage a personal porfolio of $100,000. Im not big time. I understand market psychology and how to utilize the float of a stock and the short % to benefit my strategy...Set up an enter point and an exit point .Buy on the dips.The deleverageing we saw in sep of 08 will not be repeated any time soon. Here are some rules

1.have a margin account with your broker so they dont hold your funds for 3 days while it setttle's a trade

2.be able to short a stock. Not in a maliious way, just looking for over bought conditions. Artificiously inflated prices happen because of over demand.Once demand falls, so does the stock

3.have a enter point..if you miss it , dont chase it

4.have a exit point.there is nothing worse than holding a stock for a loss that has no pr and hope of moving..when your wrong, say your wrong and move on. ( this is way different from leverageing down, which i am a big fan of )

5.remember to use stop loss (gain)...after you create a positive base, use a stop (Gain)loss, its less stressfull than staring at your computer screen.

6. You dont have to trade today.....what?

7. every morning do 4 things . look at the futures , check the asia and europe markets ,check for upgrades and downgrades, and look for earnings or pr on the stock your watching.