IMO, as soon as you have an edge you can execute repeatedly on demo, you should start slowly on a live account. An edge is a trading strategy that gets you a good win loss ratio, like 15/20 An edge says that when you go in a trade and execute properly it is more probable the trade will go good for you.
I see people who demo and backtest for months and months and even years. IMO, this a huge waste of time unless you are so unskilled you have never learned anything about trading and developed a repeatable edge.
Once you have a definable, repeatable edge it’s time to see if you can make it work in the real world.
Everyone says over and over that experience is the most important thing. Well, demo trading gives you exactly 0 experience. Demo trading isn’t even the little kiddie pool.
Also, there is no reason not to start a micro account with a very small size, as your first account. With brokers that allow you to fractionalize lots you can start very small and easily manage your risk and money management. Undercapitolization is only an issue if you try to trade lot sizes to big for the account. With the fractionalizing you can effectively trade very small accounts and learn to trade live without risking much.
If 3-4K is nothing to you and you wouldn’t care if you lost that amount a few times a row, sure start their.
I started my live micro account with IBFX with $100. I can fractionalize lots all the way from .01 cent to $5.00, all the way to the second decimal.
Once I compound it enough I’ll change the account over to the next account level up. I was tempted to start with a few K, but then I thought if I can’t trade a $100. and compound without first losing my account, I’m sure not going to be able to do any better with a few K.
I don’t subcribe to the, “never ending demo training,” way of thinking because I’ve found that with just about everything I’ve tried in my life the best and fastest way to learn it and become good is to do it for real. Learn the lessons that doing it for real will teach you quickly. I’m not saying jump in with a huge account and try to play with the big boys in the deep end of the pool. But, at least a small live account. Though, only when you think you have put together a repeatable edge with a good win/loss ratio.