I have been trading demo accounts now for 6 months or so. Except for one unfortunate account, I have managed to make fairly nice profits in relativley short periods of time. My latest account opened in late Aug with 50K is just over 120K, that with successfully weathering a 50% drawdown at one point. Other accounts similar success.
So far I have been reluctant to go live until I am sufficiently confident that my trading style and methods are successful in the longer term and that I can go live without forgetting what I’ve learned thus far.
I would like to start with a 10K mini account because I want it to “hurt” if I lose. No pain no gain.
For those who have taken the plunge and made a successful transition, how did you know when you were ready? How large of an account did you start with? Did your trading styles, tactics and strategies change much after going live?
Live trading when you have actual money at risk will likely impact the mental side of your trading considerably, and potentially in ways you don’t expect.
My suggestion is that you start very small until you get a handle on the live trading thing. I appreciate the desire to “feel the pain”, but you’re likely to make some mistakes as you get going - ones that are going to cost you money. Better to be trading as small as you can get away with while that’s going on. You can always scale up as you become better at avoiding the pitfalls and more confident and consistent in your trading.
I have been reading other similar threads. It does appear, anecdotally at least, that successful demo trading does not necessarily translate to successful live trading, at least at first. You are right that live trading can impact in unexpected ways. I will take your advice into consideration.
I’m looking to go Live soon also and considering taking the small deposit approach. Getting a feel for risking real money without losing a lot is my main concern. Once I’m profitable live, I’ll consider depositing more and risking more in turn.
A lot of what I’ve read says that even if you break even when going Live the first year, it is considered a great success. I’ll be aiming for that at the very least.
I don’t know who told you about breaking even is successful but I’m gonna have to disagree. If you’re trading as a hobby then I guess that’s fine but why not donate money to charity or take up paintballing.
To your first point I think dipping your toe in is a great idea.
Some people will disagree with me here but I’ve noticed that the demo feed is “slightly” different from the live feed. The price difference between live and demo (i’ve observed) is a small lag of 30 seconds to 2 minutes. If your strategy involves scalping then demo trading successfully will give you a false sense of security with your strategy.
Another thing to consider is that with the demo account you get a full fill right away - even during “off hours”. When you are live with a full account - you mentioned 10k - when you trade during periods of low volume what you do will have an affect, however small, on the real market.
Good luck with going live.
You are going into battle. Don’t except break even as a success.
I say start with an amount so small that you could care less about losing it. If that means it’s only 10 bucks or so, then so be it. But trading even the smallest amount of money is better than demo trading.
Your advice about trading small amounts is sound. It’s just going to be hard getting excited about a $5 profit compared to $500, even if it’s not real. It is fear of losing that sometimes drives us to make mistakes and clouds our judgement. Making very small risks at first is a good way to get one’s feet wet.