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Pattern Day Trading (PDT)

Learn what PDT means and how to avoid breaking the rule

Christine avatar
Written by Christine
Updated this week

What is Pattern Day Trading?

Pattern Day Trading can be defined as when a trader carries out four or more day trades within five business days.

What is a Day trade?

A day trade is defined as buying, then selling the same security within the same trading day.

Who is a Pattern Day Trader?

A Pattern Day Trader (PDT) is an individual who completes 4(four) “day trades” within a rolling 5-business-day period.

A trader is not allowed to buy and sell the same company's stocks more than 4 times within 5 consecutive business days.


For example:

As a trader, if you buy Netflix stocks on Monday and sell them on that same day, that's called a day trade. If you carry out the same action (for Netflix or any other company) on Tuesday and Wednesday, you would have used up all your day trades (3-day trades).

If you then try to buy and sell Netflix (or any other company's) stock again within the 5-business day period (i.e Thursday and Friday), your account would be flagged for Pattern Day Trading and subsequently banned from trading stocks on Chipper for 90 days.

❗ PDT restrictions will take place upon the 4th day trade in a 5-day period.



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