MarkR, I wouldn't worry about what other people do. Just make sure you are doing the right thing.
If I had to venture a guess, I would say that most people that blew up with real money after successfully trading a demo, did not treat thier demo trading experience like they would treat real money, they only thought they were.
If you are demo trading, take it seriously, working on fine tuning your methodology, to the point where you know how you are going to trade, how your going to react to situations, events, happenings. What types of trades your in, and trades your not in. A written plan. It becomes second nature. And when you are consistently profitable, then go live with a small % risk per trade, and build it as you grow your confidence.
I think way to much has been made of this 95% people lose business. That is because IMO, a lot of people try it. A lot of people are attracted to it for the obvious reasons, but they simply don't have a clue as to how to get it done, nor the wherewithal or drive to make it happen over the long haul. It takes a lot of sacrifice and can be painful. And as you probably know, most people want the easy money. When they find out it ain't easy turning yourself into a consistently profitable trader, they quit. Hence the large number. Although, having said that, look at the results of the poll started by Iso. The largest grouping is traders up over 50% last year. Interesting.
If I had to venture a guess, I would say that most people that blew up with real money after successfully trading a demo, did not treat thier demo trading experience like they would treat real money, they only thought they were.
If you are demo trading, take it seriously, working on fine tuning your methodology, to the point where you know how you are going to trade, how your going to react to situations, events, happenings. What types of trades your in, and trades your not in. A written plan. It becomes second nature. And when you are consistently profitable, then go live with a small % risk per trade, and build it as you grow your confidence.
I think way to much has been made of this 95% people lose business. That is because IMO, a lot of people try it. A lot of people are attracted to it for the obvious reasons, but they simply don't have a clue as to how to get it done, nor the wherewithal or drive to make it happen over the long haul. It takes a lot of sacrifice and can be painful. And as you probably know, most people want the easy money. When they find out it ain't easy turning yourself into a consistently profitable trader, they quit. Hence the large number. Although, having said that, look at the results of the poll started by Iso. The largest grouping is traders up over 50% last year. Interesting.