How long before going live ?

[garethj]

So, here I am, I have been practicing on a daily basis, have been reading tons of (sometimes) helpful advice and went through babypips tutorial, have been playing with different indicators,...
It's been two months. Tutorials are talking about 6 months before going live. But I feel I have mostly correct strategy, allowing a 60 benefits/day.
Do you think I am totally out of my mind if I decide to open a live account now, even a micro forex account ?

 

[Masquerade]

No, go for it! Best way to learn with real money.

 

[Rhody Trader]

If you have a strategy you feel you can consistently apply (and has a positive expectancy, of course) then definitely go live as soon as you feel comfortable. Do so with as little as you can get away with, though. Live trading, as I'm sure you've read, is not the same as demo trading. You'll feel and do things you never expected, which will probably lead to mistakes. Best to only have a fractional amount in the market as you work your way through that.

 

[garethj]

If you have a strategy you feel you can consistently apply (and has a positive expectancy, of course) then definitely go live as soon as you feel comfortable. Do so with as little as you can get away with, though. Live trading, as I'm sure you've read, is not the same as demo trading. You'll feel and do things you never expected, which will probably lead to mistakes. Best to only have a fractional amount in the market as you work your way through that.

Yep, sounds it's time for a micro account. I am pretty sure I'll act differently with a live account, like I'll freak out a bit more when things start to go wrong.
Thing is I am not a super greedy person so I can deal with one of the basics of money management, which is take profit when there is one and not expect some super mega benefit.

 

[ceydababy]

Do a small account with ODL 50p a point. IMO paper trading is pointless. You can never experience paper trading what you experience by putting actual money on the line. As 80% of this game is pure mindset, it's the mindset you need to work on and alas paper trading doesn't really cut the mustard

 

[Black Swan]

Do a small account with ODL 50p a point. IMO paper trading is pointless. You can never experience paper trading what you experience by putting actual money on the line. As 80% of this game is pure mindset, it's the mindset you need to work on and alas paper trading doesn't really cut the mustard

Agreed, even the thrill of playing with 20p bets concentrates the mind.

 

[tomorton]

If you have set yourself strict rules of engagement and been able to stick with them, and win consistently, with no risk of blowing your account, you are ready to trade real money. If you have been winning but have no system, or repeatedly side-stepped your own rules, or took silly risks, sit back and do some hard thinking.

 

[Phenyo]

Thanks to all your folk who have provided some helpful feedback in the above question even I am learning a lot from that which has been presented.

 

[WallStreetHero]

demoing is not pointless its an excellent start, ive learnt alot from it, sure its all about the mindset but if you trade 100% properly thinking its you real money its actully alot different, most people just use demos and mess about on them, but you need to do it professionaly, ive been doing it for a month now and have a timetable and always work on that acting like its a real account and have learnt alot from it.

 

[jeffsmith]

Starting with a demo account is not bad. It is the best way to start trading. This will help you to learn the trading techniques. Therefore, in future will help you in starting with live trading account.

 

[lowmach]

think of the micro account as an investment in your trading education!

though i still demo new strategies all the time!

imho: you can not demo the emotional feelings you get when real money is appearing and disappearing in front of your eyes.

I couldn't believe how even a dime a pip made me giddy or frustrated!

best of luck pal!

 

[ceydababy]

think of the micro account as an investment in your trading education!

though i still demo new strategies all the time!

imho: you can not demo the emotional feelings you get when real money is appearing and disappearing in front of your eyes.

I couldn't believe how even a dime a pip made me giddy or frustrated!

best of luck pal!

100% Agree. Good Post

 

[garethj]

think of the micro account as an investment in your trading education!

though i still demo new strategies all the time!

imho: you can not demo the emotional feelings you get when real money is appearing and disappearing in front of your eyes.

I couldn't believe how even a dime a pip made me giddy or frustrated!

best of luck pal!

Yep, good point. I'll go for a micro account. As you said, I am pretty sure I'll hate losing a pip and be thrilled if I earn one. And, from what I read everywhere, controling your emotions is one big part of forex.
I mean, even with a demo account, watching a pair getting closer and closer to your stoploss can cause some stress so when you know it's real money...

 

[joeking323]

Trading with Real money and trading demo are very different.

emotions are very hard to control.

allways start small and work up from there - if you cant make a profit with one contract you are not going to make it with ten!

 

[garethj]

Trading with Real money and trading demo are very different.

emotions are very hard to control.

allways start small and work up from there - if you cant make a profit with one contract you are not going to make it with ten!

Well, Joe, I know that quite well. I've just destroyed my 2d demo account thinking I had found some working method which could be used on a bigger scale. And then... nothing left.
Obviously, I would have not tried that with a micro account, even if the amount is quite low, I know the value of things.

 

[N Rothschild]

never demoed when i started, waste of time imo..half of trading is dealing with your emoticons and how you meant to learn that when your playing with fake money