How long to demo trade

Hi there. I’m a newbie. I’ve been reading through a lot of posts and the consensus is to definitely demo trade before even thinking about using(losing :wink: ) the cash. For those avid traders, how long did you trade on a demo account before moving over to a cash account. I know I can’t base my timeline on any other individual’s experience…

thanks.

One of the sites I was at recommends you demo for 30 days. I would say that is probably a pretty good time frame. I wouldn’t even demo, until you have filled yourself with trading info. Make sure you are extremely informed prior to demo trading, just so you don’t get discouraged. If you demo trade prior to becoming informed you are just setting yourself of for failure.

I plan to demo for a few months, I am not sure this is good or not. I think I will try out a few different trading strategies for a bit and see what works best for me. I would say demo until you are comfortable enough to do it.

I agree with shiny, you should probably demo for as long as you need. Granted you are never going to be 100% confident when your money is on the line, but there is no hurry.

There is no hurry, Demo until you are ready or as ready as you ever will be.

I agree with trader and ibpippin. There’s no rush. This is your money and you need to make sure you can make the right decisions a good percentage of the time.

:slight_smile: Some online trading companies allow you to practice for 30 days but then, you can always find many other companies who are more than willing to give you a chance to try theirs, too.
My suggestion, practice as long as you want, take advantage of the available information that you can get, enjoy the practices and when you feel that you are capable, that is the only time you start.

Goodluck!

I�m newbie here, I�m going to try the MT4 for practice. I think for few months but, this time is the end of year…
Do you think is a good time for start up?

demo trade for at least a year.

This will give you time to learn, practice and improve your skills. You will also get a chance to see different market environments. Every day is different, and the wild volatility that we’ve seen the past few weeks probably won’t last forever. There will be periods where the markets barely move at all. Would your system and strategy work then? Would you be able to recognize a shift in trading environments and make adjustments? That ability and experience probably won’t develop in only 30 days of demoing. Actually, I’ll guarantee that.

There’s a lot to learn, so don’t be in a rush. Take the time to learn it right and make small improvements every day. Unless we go to a one world currency, there will always be opportunities to be there…k?

Also, please read my post on expectations. This may help you get your mindset right at what you should expect in your Forex education journey:

http://forums.babypips.com/newbie-island/17020-why-you-can-only-see-things-hindsight.html#post69801

I hope this helps!

Many demo’s can last for 30 or so days, some more some less

I dont think there is any time as to how long you should do demo.though demo’s last for 90 days you can open another if you feel not ready for a real account. Demo helps you to master the forex world, so keep doing until you feel ready, you don’t have to rush things. Always remember that you would be investing your money, so the decisions you make now can affect you positively or otherwise.

A trader should trade in a demo account till he starts believing in himself and have confidence in the strategy that he was using in demo account for his practice. Only after this he should move to real account.

If you don’t trust yourself with your strategy or the money then demo - of course, you can’t make money with it though!

I have never demoed, went live after I felt comfortable with trading and opted for a micro-account so I could start to learn how to trade.

Your method of practicing forex is very good but mostly traders when they practice with real account, emotions had great effect on them. On getting some profits with regular money management, they start using high lots and eventually lose all of their capital.

I agree, and one of the hardest tasks is to control your emotions so that they do not affect your decision making. I mean let’s face it, most traders will never make it and there is a reason for that.

I can tell the exact time for any trader to spend on demos. Some even don’t like to do trading on demo accounts and they choose micro or cent account for this purpose. So its totally upto an individual’s personal choice.

Trade demo as long as it last, there should be no limit until you are fully satisfied and feel ready to trade with real account. Even if the time limit has elapsed, you can restart again.

Yes demo is the basic thing which helps to learn practical trading even you had a lot of knowledge about forex you can not do trading without practice. You should do demo trading for 6 months before enter to cash account. It will tell you all details of interacting to forex market.

I disagree for the same reasons I have mentioned in this thread.