Post School of Pipsology

Beginner Questions
1

Hello everyone,

I’ve gone through the whole school and will be definitely using it as a reference in the future. Congrats to the people who took the time to write such an amazing introduction to the whole world of forex.

Now the question is: what is the next step for people who want more information and maybe a bit more hands on training or mentoring. Books, online courses, links to a couple of threads on babypips forum,…etc

Currently, I am reading a couple of trading logs and they surely are beneficial (another congrats to them taking the time to support us beginners :D)

Thank You,

2

You haven’t said anything about demo trading. Most brand-new newbies start demo trading before finishing the entire School. Have you done any demo trading?

If you haven’t begun demo trading, then that’s your next step.

Demo trading is the best way to test whether you really have mastered the School stuff you have studied. Your success, or failure, demo trading will help you identify the old topics you need to review, and the new topics you need to dig into.

Mastering all of the content in the School is just the first phase of your forex education. I think you should view forex education as a life-long endeavor. And, in my opinion, it should be primarily a do-it-yourself endeavor. You can gain the equivalent of a college education in forex trading [I]on your own[/I], without buying training courses, or paying for the services of personal coaches or mentors.

Several book-lists have been created here on the Babypips Forum. These lists are not complete or comprehensive; but, they do reflect the recommendations of Forum members who have read and benefited from some of the many good books that are out there. Here’s one of those lists: 301 Moved Permanently

Returning to the subject of demo trading, some traders feel strongly that you should skip “play-money” demo accounts, and launch directly into live trading on a VERY tiny scale. Their reasoning is that you can’t begin to conquer the emotional side of trading until there is real money at risk, even if it’s a tiny sum.

Other traders (I’m in this group) believe you should demo trade, without risking real money, until you have accomplished three things:

(1) you have mastered the mechanics of your trading platform, and your charts,

(2) you have experimented with various trading styles (scalping, day trading, swing trading) and with various trading sessions (Tokyo, London, New York) and you have found a style and a time of day that suit you, and

(3) you have experimented with methods and strategies, and settled on one or more that you think you can use to trade profitably and consistently.

After you have achieved (1), (2) and (3), then you will be ready — in my opinion — to open a live trading account.

Welcome to the Forum. And good luck with the next step in your forex journey.

4

Returning to the subject of demo trading, some traders feel strongly that you should skip “play-money” demo accounts, and launch directly into live trading on a VERY tiny scale. Their reasoning is that you can’t begin to conquer the emotional side of trading until there is real money at risk, even if it’s a tiny sum.

I think this is a good idea IF you have demo traded a few brokers and different platforms and have a good understanding of the mechanics of placing trades. A tiny account and a demo account are not that different emotionally. Opening a tiny real account and depositing and withdrawing funds is a good thing to test with any broker before you deposit a real sum.

I find I do take a tiny account more seriously than demo. I find I treat an account with a real sum in much more seriously. I trade 2 real accounts sometimes big (to me) and sometimes tiny and a few demos I like the demo trading contests:D.

Welcome to Baby Pips
If you go with a tiny real account keep your expectations low you will likely risk to much and blow it up;) Thats why a lot of people don’t recommend tiny accounts.

5

Thank you both for your detailed input,
I have been demo trading for a month now but after going through pipsology my knowledge has risen exponentially.
I find myself trading mostly on large timeframes: 1h 4h 24h charts.
Sometimes I drop to 15min timeframes depending on how much action is going on in the market.
I am not sure I’m ready for a live account yet so I’ll continue to practice on my demo account for now. I am still in the process of experimenting with different indicators and strategies. It is only a matter of time and experience :slight_smile:

On a side note: I received a call from one of the local brokers here in my country after I signed up for a free demo account, I was like asking her about if they offer any type of hands on practice or training. She replied back:“Our platform (I think she said MT4) is very easy to work on if you come to my office I can teach you everything in 10 minutes”.
I was like umm ok. So I still need to check on that lol :slight_smile:

Thanks again,