Speaking from my own experience either you are a serious trader with your $$ or not. Just because I am good at online poker with fake $$$ does not make me a good poker player. Now if I use my $$$ at my friends house or go to Vegas and play and win then yes I can say I am a good poker player.
There are too many factors in trading and to not jump in trading atleast a small account is not going to get you very far. Studying from gurus will not get you far either. If you are serious about trading you have to get comfortable with losing. Once you have mastered your feelings and can master how you trade, only then will you start to make solid gains.
I have not spent a dime on learning to trade. Only sacrificed my time and losing almost 20% of my account over the last year. So far I do not see a big difference between myself and other traders who spend $$$ on platforms, gurus etc..
Trading comes down to 3 basic things after you understand what I said above.
1 - Trade Plan
2 - Execute Trade Plan
3 - Manage Risk - Set Max Stop & Let Winners Run!
And Yes I am still working on following my own damn advice too.
If becoming a Successful Trader was easy everyone would be doing it.
I see paper trading as beneficial to learn how the software works, and to see charts develop in real time with lvl 2 and T&S tape. But i definitely agree with what I think is your main point. No matter what people say, PT simply does not evoke the emotional response. This, to me, is one of the biggest parts of trading.
I agree paper trading lacks real life drama but don't agree it is without benefit. I see it as a stepping stone. As to the gurus well their voices/lessons in my head have kept me from making really stupid mistakes so many times. I'm thankful for the gurus.
I tried paper trading using other platforms like TOS, but the problem was the data wasn't in real time. However, I used Stocks To Trade's paper trading platform for about a month, and it worked wonders for me. The data is real time and it helped me to master reading charts, order entry, Level 2, T&S, etc. It's very much like real trading (minus your money). I would highly recommend it even for just one month.
@SnowDog as long as you don't cheat and look ahead a 20 min delay shouldn't make any difference...
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