Demo vs. live

So, how do you explain very successful businessmen failing when they try new ventures - I find it hard to believe Richard Branson and the like wouldnt fully understand any business they were considering entering prior to entering, yet they still failed.

i went live from day one

I’m sure you’ve said before that you paper traded for a year or more before you went live, maybe Im mistaken

This may be true when you are a salesman, selling a tangible product to real people - with the only variable being the product knowledge.

However, it really has no resemblance to FX trading as it FX trading fails to illustrate the characteristics recognized with businesses selling tangible products; other than knowing how to work on your P&L.

For mi until now I don’t see the amount I trade. I hide the amount. I don’t want the amount to district mi… I just focus on getting pips. Only look at the amount after cost the trade

just because your successful in one business dosnt guarantee your successful in another.
that would be like saying usain bolt would be successful in long distance running or throwing, just
because he is good at sprints. while it would help it dosnt guarantee.

live from day one in 2002 when it was first opened up to the personal retail market. in my neck of the world

the forex market is first and foremost “selling and purchasing a product, cash” thats what commissions and spreads are. you are buying a product “cash” and selling “cash” as well as paying for access into a market. in simple terms.

I ask you this. in your mind where does a bussiness start?

You buy nothing in the fx markets, it’s speculation. Hence, there really is no ‘hard’ delivery, it is simply a bet…

you didnt answer my question

The foreign exchange market is the “place” where currencies are traded…

definition of traded:
buy and sell goods and services…

definition of a business:
an organization or economic system where goods and services are exchanged for one another or for money

hopefully the above has cleared that up for you

You’re original statement that ‘business is business, only the product is different’ doesn’t stack up, and the above statement seems to contradict it. If ‘only the product is different’, then why isn’t success guaranteed? If success isn’t guaranteed, then ‘only the product is different’ is wrong, you can’t have it both ways.

live from day one in 2002

I knew I’d read this somewhere, and this is dated 2008 not 2002

And what exactly are you buying or selling in the FX markets, scmonds?

Neither goods or services - speculation.

A fine difference.

Would you like some help on this, I believe their are some lessons on it in the babypips school

hopefully the above has cleared that up for you

absolutely - we all know what is going on here…

The problem with ‘adjusting the truth’ based around what you want others to believe is that there will always be someone one step ahead.

Unfortunately, there are no lessons for this in the BP school, Scmonds.

Actually, if the broker is honest and doesn’t deceive the trader, then the demo account and the real one shouldn’t differ in any way in how they work. It’s purely a psychological issue when switching from one to the next.

Very right, demo accounts can be effectively used as a testing tool. The idea of testing strategy first on demo can also prove beneficial.

Yes as rightly said above, demo accounts are crucial for gaining experience and also as a testing tool, so amateurs must try their hand first on demo effectively and then go to live. Forex is not a get rich quick business, so desire to make early gains usually lead to failures.

Yeah its the psychological aspect because your real money is involved so the nerves will definitely get high.

Also, it seems to me, that on demo, there are usually less requotes and slippages. And in real trading there are. isn`t it?

I don’t know if there is a technical difference between demo and real account but yes the physical difference is there. Our human emotions are different while we trade in a demo and in real account.

When I was a newbie, I also thought a lot about this question, but then I understood that it’s best to not spend too much time on a demo account, because it won’t bring you real money…

If one doesn’t know how to trade a live account also won’t bring them any real money either.

For beginners the main thing is that it won`t take away your money :slight_smile:

Demo is the initial stage for tradingand we cannot move to live account without proper knowledge and practice in demo account. We had to spent maximum time in demo account until we are not satisfied with the positive results so live account we can trade with less risk.