Should You Be Paper-Trading?

Yes. Also a demo account may be used to try out ideas. I acutally switch over from live to sim regularly to try out setups. A good sim, btw., does not give you instant filles but statistical fills (I.e. a touch may not be filled for a limit order). In my case (ninja trader) I find the sim to be alittle more conservative than the market

Agree 100%. Any trading when you're starting out should be done with a meaningful amaount of money ie money you can comfortably afford to lose but would prefer not to.

Bottom line . . . 80% of trading revolves around emotional control, the need for this comes from the fact that you're playing with real money.

Train hard Fight easy

think if you are emotionally stable and have approached trading from the start in responsible way, you do not intend trading scared money etc

its the same

many I think come unstuck when profitable on demo or with small stakes

move live / jump up in stakes

then they attempt the cherry pick there own method approach to make more out of trading opportunities than their method indicates is possible

demanding the market pays to order

miss miss miss miss !!!

emotion up ......... ! ###

THE END


huge value imho, you should have the discipline to return to it later if required

you have a benchmark to measure personal performance from

I don't personally have much regard for demo accounts either. How many traders here deposit 50k into their trading account to start with? Even if they can, the emotional difference between a fictional 50k and 50k of your children's inheritance is HUGE.

This is so key. In fact, this unlocks another secret of trading. People often ask why people who can teach you about the markets, don't just go and trade for themselves. Emotion is the answer, they may logically and rationally know what to do, but when their own money is on the line, their emotional approach sets them back.

Which, to slightly go off at a tangent, I don't belive that a successful mentor should, neccessarily have been a successful trader.

My reason for wanting to paper trade is that I am an equity trader by profession. Hence, I am restricted from trading equities on my own account in my current job. I am of course allowed to build a paper track record for future use which is what I am aiming to do.

Can any of you recommend a paper trading site / vendor which allow you to trade European equities as well, not just US equities? Or can you direct me to a post on this page where I can read more please?