the reason you need 25k and margin is because of the time it takes for your $$$'s to clear after the trade. with 3k if you play it and day trade you won't be able to trade again for 3 days until the $$'s clear. so it would be hard to day trade with that amount of $$ and make 1k a week until you build up your capital. as far as specialists and market makers go, even the folks i know as pros have varying opinions on how the markets actually work. i remember a few years ago how we would talk about the big boards and how they were true compared to the OTC and pinks. turns out the big boards look almost as corrupt. personally i've learned to use charts and level 2 along with message board sentiment to make my trading decisions. there are some great posters on ihub who know how to find real gems even in the OTC markets. two of my favorites are The Rainmaker and Doubloon. but i don't do many day trades so there are people more suited to help you out in that regard. good luck
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