I was wondering what the rules are on day trading in a futures account. I know that I need to have at least $25,000 in my account to day trade stocks. Does this same rule apply for a futures account? No. Some brokerage companies require as little as $500 to trade futures. Check out the websites at Advanced Futures or Velocity futures. Their miniumums are low. Again, there is no pattern day trader rule in the futures market. The reason is that you don't actually own a contract unless you take delivery. You are simply putting up good-faith money. (But since you are "buying" or "selling" on margin, you WILL have to put up more money if your position goes against you and you want to keep holding it.)