hi! newbie here - i just wanted to gauge what the differences between what you experienced using a demo account and a live trading account. i came across a thread where it was mentioned that having a nano account is a better option than doing a demo so that you can get the actual experience of trading (first hand) and not waste (for a lack of a better word) time.
what are your experiences/thought about this? 
It’s pretty contradictory to say that demo doesn’t give “the actual experience of trading” and then open a live account and trade an insignificant amount of money on it. You might as well just stick to demo at that point. Most of the traders who go live before they are ready are just doing so for the gambler’s rush, and just trying to justify it to themselves.
If you’re treating your trading seriously, there’s no point in going live if you can’t consistently make money on a demo account. It just hurts you down the line when you have less or no capital to trade with.
there are two ways for learning to swim:
either by using life-jacket and other similar accessories
or by diving in and doing what is needed to stay afloat
Which one do you chose?
that’s what i was thinking too. it just perplexed me a little with regards to what was mentioned about how “it’s nothing like trading for real.” i was questioning more the platform and other tools of the trade. what you experience with demo accounts should be what you get in the live accounts, right?
etfak, that analogy does not bode well with me - i can’t swim in real life!
Demo trade until you can establish a solid trading plan.
Why expose yourself and your hard-earned cash to the market if you don’t know what you’re doing?
For the most part, yes. Obviously it’s dependent on the broker but most of the regulated ones (at least here in the U.S.) offer good services.
I am a proponent of going live with nano asap. I see others on this thread disagree - and that is fine.
I feel if it isn’t real - it isn’t real. Real for example - if you have $1,000. to open a live account - but first spend months/years on a demo account - and finally you have it . Now you go live with that $1,000 account - I truly believe your experience will NOT mimmick your demo account and you’ll be left wondering what happened?
If it is real - even just say $100 - this is enough to use on a nano account with proper money management and a good strategy (heck - I’m down to $47 in my account and probably won’t replenish it until it gets down to about $20) Yes I do learn good lessons in overleveraging even with this tiny amount.
P.S - I also believe starting with a $100 IS enough - no reason to drop a grand on a dream and a whim - - if you can build $100 consistently for a year - well now you have the confidence and trust - and more importantly you will KNOW you KNOW what your doing.
edited - - obviously with $47, I do not KNOW that I KNOW what I am doing - -thank god I didn’t start with a thousand
^ you do make a valid point… i suppose, as with each trader’s unique strategies, there’s also no “right” way to start their trading career (i.e. demo vs. live).
the $100 insight does sound a lot better than $1000, but i will see what i decide when i get up to that point. thanks for your input!
I agree with the go nano! It’s very different trading demo vs live. This may sound weird but I feel the market reacts differently when you are live vs demo. I mean from a technical standpoint it does. When you buy or sell the pair, your money directly impacts the price no matter how miniscule your account. After all, Money is the only variable the drives price, not news not interest rates not all that BS. I have spent a retarded amount of time to prove this theory, and if you don’t believe me I will gladly send you my excel document.
Back to the nano. $100, $1000?
Nah, too much mates! Try literally $1. If you can’t make money off a dollar, you can’t make money off $100 or $1000. and guess what? You are risking a dollar and are still “live”. the money is real, the emotions are real, and if you learn how to trade well with that dollar, you can then load your account with that $100 after you prove to yourself you are consistent and profitable.
Oanda will let you deposit any amount of money, even a penny I do not work for Oanda nor am I advertising for them. I simply speak out of experience. I deposited $1.20 last week which put my account up to $1.74… which I trade up to over $3 dollars now :). Don’t believe me? Check out my fx book. Search for Leg0nd its the live system. The other system is my demo and it speaks volumes about the difference between going live and demo. Good luck mate Welcome to the Foreign Exchange… it’s the most difficult but financially rewarding market in the world, it welcomes all but pays the elite very few!
Obviously there is a difference between a live and a demo. But I still wonder what’s the use of a $100 account?
In my view you will still have a testing attitude when operating such an account.
I would rather you get a premium simulator for a similar price and practice on that. You get the correct data and can even have a working strategy before opening a live account.
[QUOTE=“GRIX FX;615657”]Obviously there is a difference between a live and a demo. But I still wonder what’s the use of a $100 account? In my view you will still have a testing attitude when operating such an account. I would rather you get a premium simulator for a similar price and practice on that. You get the correct data and can even have a working strategy before opening a live account. :)[/QUOTE]
+1
Great advice.
maybe you should find a broker that doesn’t have different platforms for demo and live… i’ve heard people complaining that on demo things were going great and then the live platform turned out slightly different… i like having a demo account- it’s painless :22:
There will inevitably be another difference between a demo and a live account: YOU!!!
This was suggested on this thread, which, again, could offer further angles into looking at this topic:
Difference between demo and real trading @ Forex Factory
There are also plenty of threads on this very topic, right here on Babypips!
Don’t waste any time on demo and go on real account. Open a micro account and start getting real experience there.
I strongly agree with getting a premium simulator. I also believe a small live account is the first step to building confidence. Kind of breaking in slowly to trading. If you do wipe the account out it will still emotionally upset you. You will learn something from this. Again all part of the learning process. Maybe you will tread more wisely which is a good thing.
Regards
Tyrone
Opening a nano account or demo, it doesn’t matter. Both can be good for practicing purposes. However, I am not a big fan of a nano account. If money is not there, just stick to demo for awhile ,while saving that 100 bucks on the side and a little bit more savings each month until you build enough capital and at the same time still practicing on Demo until you get good at and seeing a good results/ profits in trading from Demo. By the time you are ready, you then have money that you save up and open up a live macro account and start building your equity there…
Have a plan out strategy not just how you trade but also where you are going to get that capital from trading without hurting your daily/monthly expenses
Good-luck!
A nano can be opened with as little as $10.00. Not exactly a huge amount to be worried about. Especially if you are trading somewhere like Oanda, and can break down your profit into pip sized payouts.
I think going with a live account, no matter how small is much better than playing meaninglessly on a demo. Even the most patient, and prudent person can develop bad habits on a demo.
The game here is all about discipline and repetition. That doesn’t seem to happen with the majority and a demo account. Making every trade actually count, no matter how minute creates a sense of responsibility that demos do not, nor cannot.
Use a demo until you are familiar with the platform and understand lot sizes and margins, then as soon as possible, make every trade count.
All forex starters read this , I`m 110 % agree with you Tang …
Many people have problems when you start playing with money that matters to them.
A $ 100 account and losses $ 10 gives little pain, put in $ 50,000 and the game is changing losses 5K in one day feel the pain … (done it self)
The mental battle you have with yourself after good and bad days that shape you as a trader .
Absolutely true… As Master Tang said, it is all about discipline and repetition.
You do not start trading with a capital of 100k and lose 5K for a stater and when you are still trying to figure things out. Even in demo, it is advisable to trade of how much money you are willing to put in as capital when you go live say 1k as opposed to 50k in demo…
No matter how much the capital is, building the equity overtime with risking only say 1-2% every trade day in and out from the day of using Demo account up to until using a live account is how you practice discipline and repetition and by the time you reach your equity to 100k, it is the same approached that you use from the beginning and it should not bothered you at all. The pain of losing should have stablished those at the early stage of trading… When you build enough equity,confidence, trusted more your instinct/judgements, you apply the discipline and repetition, maybe reducing your risk down to say 1% as opposed to 2%…Pain of losing is a foreign to you :)… Then you will start opening a thread like “Trading is so boring, what should I do to keep my sanity!” Lol
As daytrader start with 0,1 % of you capital in each trade .
Over time you you can slowly increase is up to 0,5 % in each trade . Better to active adding you position after a good entry or adding when you get a better price.
Remember 0,3 % profit a day double you account during a year …
This is best way to secure you capital when you are in " losing head " modus …this happen to every trader again and again …