When or how did I know to start trading in a live account?
You must have a well defined strategy which will respond to all market conditions, and you must have been able to run it with consistent profit in demo.
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When you know, you will not ask this question. Let the results speak for your decision.
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How long have you been demo trading? And are you profitable?
IMO, you need to start a real account on day 2, once you know how to use the platform, and know how much is your risk per trade.
You don’t put money on the line, you don’t have the feelings of a trader. Open an account with the Amount you can afford to loose, and risk 1% per trade max. Don’t loose more than 2% per day. This will give you at least 50 days of actual trading experience; something demo will not give you.
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I like that idea a lot. But for a total newbie, I’d stick with demo to get the hang first. And test a couple strategies while you’re there.
If you have consistent result on demo, only then you can go for the live trading! Otherwise, no way!
I usually draw conclusions based on the results of the work. I think that more often it depends on the specific results of the trader’s work.
If you feel confident and have a plan going in then you can just switch to micro/cent account and try real live trading. Trading with your own money can feel alot different compares to fake money.
Imo, traders should not start trading live until he/she makes consistent profits in demo and are confident about their trading skills and knowledge.
You can start trading in a demo account when you are a new trader. It gives you the confidence to do live trading. If you want to know when you are ready for live trading, here are some signs that you can consider:
- You’re familiar with your trading platform and feel at ease using it.
- You devise a new strategy and put it into action.
- You decide which type of trader you want to be, like swing trader, day trader, etc.
- You gain more profits than you lose.
- You are done setting realistic trading goals
- You learn to manage your emotions
- When losses of trading don’t affect your decisions
- Be patient when you do trading
You can say that you are now ready for live trading if most of the signs are true for you.
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When you are ready to shift to a live account, when you are mentally prepared to lose your hard earned money, when you are emotionally stable and prepared to face the volatile market.
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You can start trading live when you are confident enough to take risks and have made consistent profits in demo trading.
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When you are confident about your knowledge and skills and are making a consistent profit on a demo account, you can move to a live account.
When you have a tested strategy to apply on a live account and make a profit continuously on a demo account, you can quickly move to a live account.
Its a good question , I guess it down to when your comfortable,some may say when your profitable over at least 6 months,though you could argue you need longer to experience different.markets conditions. It would be very wise to build confidence with a Demo then start a minimum live account if necessary.It down to confidence really as the winning formula not the monetary amount, but knowing that you can trade profitably
There is no generally good answer to this question 
Trading is about not losing money, so it would be wise to start risking real money when you know, that risk of long term losing money is low enough for you. Some will demo trade for months or years before going live, and others will jump live after 5-10 trades. And there is nothing wrong in both approaches, but you need to understand the risks. On one hand being profitable after few trades has little statistical significance, on the other, historical results may not be relevant for future at all.
Another factor is how you treat demo trading. Demo trading is great. It allows you trade without risking any money. And well… that maybe also the issue. Whereas demo trading is best solution to start with strategy and check it’s profitability, it’s not always the case.
I have problem with demo trading, that I cannot treat it as seriously as live trading. Maybe years ago it was working, but now I just need to see at least real cents being on the line to get engaged into trading process. If you feel, that you don’t treat demo seriously, there is no point in staying on demo. And this approach will most likely cost you some real money
When you’re ready to go to a live account, when you’re mentally prepared to lose your hard-earned money, and when you’re emotionally secure and ready to confront the market’s volatility.
When you have a well tested and well defined strategy that suggests you won’t just blow an account.
You would be ready for a live account after you have practised your risk management skills and are mentally strong enough to start trading with your real money at stake.