re: Taxes. How do I minimize the pain?

With the risk of being called a dinosaur, consider being an investor rather than a trader. Dividend stocks you hold give you tax advantages as the dividend tax rate may be less than your normal tax bracket. This will also help you to hold on to your investment(not speculation) for longer than a year making LT capital gains and tax advantages when you sell. If you rather use mutual funds, the same can be accomplished.