Dear Shopper,

Day trading used to be a gated club. The price of admission was $25,000.

For 25 years, if your account held less than that, you were mostly locked out. Make more than three day trades in a week and your broker could freeze you. (A "day trade" just means buying and selling the same thing before the close.)

That wall comes down tomorrow.

On April 14, the SEC approved scrapping the Pattern Day Trader rule, the 2001 law that set the $25,000 minimum. It takes effect June 4.

FINRA pushed for the change because the old rule no longer fit the market. Commissions have dropped to zero at most brokers, and risk systems now track exposure in real time. The $25,000 gate was built for 2001, not for today.

Here is what changes: a margin account with more than $2,000 can now move in and out of a trade the same day. No day-trade counter. No $25,000 floor.

This is the biggest opening for small accounts in over two decades.

And it matters for us specifically. Because pitchforks and candlesticks (the chart tools I lean on) work on any timeframe.

The setup I read on a daily chart, I can read on a five-minute chart. The method does not watch the clock.

More small accounts free to trade intraday also means more hands moving the tape during the day. More intraday movement is exactly what a chart-based method feeds on.

Look at Monday, June 1. Here is the five-minute pitchfork on the S&P 500 (SPX), a trendline tool that maps where price should find buyers and sellers:

This is Monday June 1st showing the SPX honoring the pitchfork perfectly!

The SPX honored that pitchfork all day. Pair it with a change-in-trend candle (a candle pattern that flags when buyers or sellers grab the wheel), and you have a clean intraday read.

That is a setup a small account can finally trade.

One thing to write down: the rule takes effect June 4, but your broker may not have flipped the switch yet. FINRA gave brokers up to 18 months to roll it out. Some are ready on day one. Some are not. Check yours before you build a plan around it.

And a smaller barrier does not mean smaller risk. Day trading a $2,000 account is still day trading. Trade smart, size small, and let the charts lead.

The playing field just got more level. Let's be ready to use it.

I'll see you Tuesday. Let's get after it this week.

Trade Accordingly,

Licia Leslie