I am a novice trader and have paper traded for some time. When I finally came around to trading I couldn't decide what brokerage to go through. I signed up with OptionsExpress (the online brokerage) and then had a referral to use a "real-life" person that I could trust (through RJ O'Brien). Any ideas on trustworthy online brokerage firms??

What do you want to trade?

You're best off going with the most economical. You'll get killed with commissions if you use a high cost "real-life" person.

Yeah. You are exactly right about the commisions. It cost 25 dollars a turn for a person and only 5 to 12 for an online brokerage like options express but i also thought about the programs like terranovatrading where it is supposedly the most direct way of placing trades. For an online program I worry that the trade will not be placed or the trade will not be sold/ bought when i am ready to break away from a trade.

I trade commodities.

I used interactive brokers, lots of order tools, good execution, and cheap commissions