How long should one be consistently profitable before moving on to a live account? How long was that for you? Yes, I understand everyone’s journey is different.
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It took me one year, eight months, which included blowing a prop firm live account en route. However, I traded the demo account as though it was live, and kept a daily journal on the results, mistakes etc.
The difficulty is transposing to trading live accounts as it tests your emotional control management.
With trades losing and winning dollars, you could be likely to close winning trades early and letting losing ones run. All to avoid PAIN. One solution is to have only a ‘percentage’ mindset - winning and losing one or three percentages is unlikely to trigger emotion.
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The duration depends on each person. Generally, if you feel comfortable enough executing your trades and have a decent strategy you can use then i think it’s good time to move on to live account.
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My advice would be to test your strategy with very little money. Because live trading is just different. You have to find a strategy that you can still follow under stress.
The first time i was going live it was only 5 months after i discovered trading and was profitable in demo for 2 months. But i completely underestimated the emotional pressure of a live account.
The second time i was prepared for the emotional rollercoaster and was profitable for another 2 months with a strategy that is worth to be called strategy before going live. But after 1 profitable month in live trading i experienced a ranging market which i didn’t recognized and forced trades in belive that my (trend following) strategy would win. I gave up before the market broke out of range.
I learned and built a new strategy to take out most of my mental weaknesses which i only saw because i traded with real money. I am profitable in demo for 2 months now and it is the first time ever that i am not stressed about trading. I plan to go live after 3 months so i have 1 paper trading month left.
When i go live agin i will be 1,5 years into my trading journey.
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Hmmm. 
I remember I really took my time with my demo trading. 
I think after finishing the school in like 3 months, I tried out different systems before I ended up with the one I have now. 
But I think it was around a year to a year and a half?! BUT of course, I think it still depends on your trading personality. I feel like once you find the right and consistent trading system for you, you can go live! 
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I tried demo trading for a week but found that I wasn’t “invested” in it lol pun intended. So I switched to a tiny live account and I’ve kept it since! I’ve not actually blown any accounts yet! Hopefully never!
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it would be wise to try demo then move onto minimum account after , reason is you are learning all the time not only about reading charts and strategies also how you control loss and profits.This can take some time
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Few weeks, learn to use the software, then small account
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It varies from person to person, and practice only makes you a better trader.
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I was a hero in Demo for over 4 months. Then I went live and lost $4,000 in 4 months.
I did learn a lot in Demo, but I would have needed to wait a year and a half to go live to avoid the losses.
For me, I think the losses are what I learned the most from though. I just should have reduced my risk per trade more when I went live.
In the end, it worked. But the biggest thing I needed was to find the strategy that gave me consistent wins. It took a lot of trial and error because none of us knows which strategy suits our level of patience and risk until we try them out for a while.
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As a newbie please tell me for how long should you be on demo account?
I feel demo is not something you should abandon, we can always go back to it for testing out strategies especially for oldies. Then for newbies, stay there until you feel ready to go live, always know it’d different for everybody, so understand yourself.
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Initially, I only stayed in demo for about two weeks. I then went live and blew 2-3 small accounts. I had not yet learned risk management or how to compound my account. I went back to demo for about a month and this week is my first week live. I’m honestly not in profit. But, I’m practicing good risk management and I feel like I’m using the account wisely.
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A demo account is always useful.
With a demo account, you can always test your new strategies.
Always stay in demo, i would rather recommend. It is your positive practice in the long run to gain good.
I did demo for about 6 months. The first couple of months, I tried my best but started keeping a journal the rest of the time, which helped. To be honest, it probably would have helped if I had stayed there a few more months but I felt fairly ready to move onto a live account.
Demo account has been extremely beneficial to me, and I have learned a great deal from it. So, I think one should use it for 7-8 months.
It varies from person to person, and constant practice can make you a better trader. I personally used demo account for about 4 months.
Practice until you are confident in your abilities and knowledge… It’s important to use it correctly in order to reap all of its benefits. After you have reached a point where you are satisfied with your knowledge and abilities, you are ready to switch to a live account.
Most people stay in the demo market for around 6 months to one year. Your first goal in demo trading should be to find out which trading method suits you best. Then your second goal is to form a trading strategy based on that method, and practise it in the demo market. Your last and final target is to find a profitable price action range for your strategy, and practise it long enough to see how it reacts to the present market. Correct any mistakes in the strategy.
Stay in the demo market till the time you have figured these out.