How easy is paper trading, really?

[Brumby]

I'll carry on trading to see if I get the same results. I already had a strong gut feeling that the results would turn out the way they would before I even started.

Just carry on doing what works for you. If it was luck than by definition it will run out. If you do have an edge than the results will testify to it.

I'm thinking of pushing myself even further by trying to trade in a way that would cause as much psychological pain as possible...got any recommendations? (it must be a form of day-trading with strict risk management & a simple set-up)

When you engage in this business long enough you will eventually realise trading being a performance activity is simply about "you" the trader and all the problems associated with your own personality. If you wish to increase the intensity then it is a function of frequency and time frame. It is intuitively obvious that the intensity of the engagement is different between trading a 5 min bar versus a daily bar.

 

[LP2]

When you engage in this business long enough you will eventually realise trading being a performance activity is simply about "you" the trader and all the problems associated with your own personality. If you wish to increase the intensity then it is a function of frequency and time frame. It is intuitively obvious that the intensity of the engagement is different between trading a 5 min bar versus a daily bar.

I would respectfully disagree. The market doesn't care about your personality & it won't adjust to your style of trading - you have to adjust to it. Just a bit curious... are you a profitable trader yourself? If so, how long have you been trading for?

 

[Brumby]

I would respectfully disagree. The market doesn't care about your personality & it won't adjust to your style of trading - you have to adjust to it.

You are confused. Point out to me one statement that I made that even remotely suggest that the market has to adjust to the trader.

Just a bit curious... are you a profitable trader yourself? If so, how long have you been trading for?

18 years - full time.

 

[min6485]

Paper trading

I know this may be hard for some of you to believe but I can execute any plan I set (as long as it's mechanical & doesn't involve too much discretion). I don't think emotions play that big of a role to the point where someone who makes 100%+ P/A on a paper account can go to averaging 5% P/A (if they're lucky) when trading with real money.

If it's true that you can make money trading common chart patterns (breakouts, complex pullbacks, etc...) & the only thing stopping the average punter from making 50%+ per year is their inability to follow their plan properly then surely people would be able to generate 300%+ returns on paper accounts where there is ZERO emotion involved?

There's only 2 conclusions I can draw from this: either you can't make money in the stock market using T.A. patterns (the ones which do are outliers) or the people who claim that paper trading is easy are just lying to fit in & not feel like sore losers (also highly unlikely... or is it?).

In my experience I think paper trading is a cursing, and a blessing.
First start with the cursing one can paper trade and make good profits, have a good system, risk management, but the cursing is when you go live with real money that will change because now your emotions are involved where as with paper trading the emotions are not there it's like playing monopoly. If you are not careful you go back to paper trading for long periods of time trying to figure out what's wrong.
The blessing have a system you believe in and tried, proper risk management that is risk no more than 1% of account equity
Go lived with real money do a series set of trades in twenty, keep good notes on each trade. Now lets say you lost all twenty trades you will be way ahead than all the paper trading. This is what I had to do and it's working.
One can talk, read, pretend about swimming, but until you dive in the water either you will swim, or sink.