how much profit do i need on demo before going to live trade

how many trades do i need to make before i use real money.
i am checking trades once a day.
right now i have been trading on this demo system for about 3 months and im up 50%, but that changes.
i have had about 250 trades.
below is what i have so far, but it only show the last 200 trades;


Working Orders:
TicketOpen TimeTypeSizeItemPriceS / LT / PMarket Price No transactions Summary:Deposit/Withdrawal:1 330.92Credit Facility:0.00 Closed Trade P/L:313.71Floating P/L:23.31Margin:95.00Balance:1 644.63Equity:1 667.94Free Margin:1 572.94 Details:[IMG]file:///C:/Program%20Files/Interbank%20FX%20Trader%204/DetailedStatement.gif[/IMG]Gross Profit:2 421.35Gross Loss:2 107.64Total Net Profit:313.71Profit Factor:1.15Expected Payoff:1.58 Absolute Drawdown:454.91Maximal Drawdown:696.69 (44.30%)Relative Drawdown:44.30% (696.69) Total Trades:199Short Positions (won %):102 (65.69%)Long Positions (won %):97 (60.82%)Profit Trades (% of total):126 (63.32%)Loss trades (% of total):73 (36.68%)Largestprofit trade:113.79loss trade:-136.80Averageprofit trade:19.22loss trade:-28.87Maximumconsecutive wins ($):21 (326.39)consecutive losses ($):10 (-350.15)Maximalconsecutive profit (count):514.20 (9)consecutive loss (count):-350.15 (10)Averageconsecutive wins:5consecutive losses:3

Do you apply money management to your trading as if it was real money?
The drawdown seems pretty high.
Risk/Reward ratio is pretty tight too... but anyway, just in case:
http://www.babypips.com/school/money_management.html

I am aware and know by experience that on a demo account the trading stress is much smaller, because in the end we know that, should we lose it all, it won't matter. However, the trick is to trade it exactly as it was real, with the same care and attention to the details as we would have on a live account.

So, more than testing how the system performs, the needed result has to be first of all, develop a sound strategy for money management (and use an amount approximatively similar to the one you would use on a real account).
Then, mastery (or at least a good control) of your emotions, observe your reactions when you win, when you lose, which timeframes suit you better according to your personality, etc...

Finally (but this last point englobes them all), discipline.
How well have you been following the rules of your system, are they clearly defined, how well do you apply the money management rules, and have you been analyzing what went wrong in your losing trades. And what went right for the winners

Your question makes me think that maybe you are impatient to start live.
Don't be. Or for example, do start, but with a very small account at a broker where you can place micro or even nano lots. (0,01 or 0,001) This way you can test without much risk how do you perform when there's real money on the table.

You'll be ready to start live as soon as it ceases to matter if it's either a demo or real account. When you're able to keep your emotions, good or bad (in fact, good can even be worse than bad... overconfidence when winning too easily digs a faster hole thereafter...), under control, when you're able to focus totally on the trading process and have confidence in your system, but at the same time are aware of the possible losses which won't matter because your money management takes care of them all, you'll be ready.
And you'll KNOW that indeed you are. Nobody can tell but you.

I won't say "Good luck" because trading shouldn't be a gamble. But I wish you the best results possible in your trading career.

You need consistency, not number of trades and profit. There's no substitute for trading real money, so try starting VERY small, microlots or less (I think Oanda allow even less), so losses will not hurt you financially. Then steadily increase your position size in line with your clearly written trading plan (which you already have, right ?). Work on keeping that equity curve as smooth as possible. Real money will bring home the facts to you better than anythng else, but you must do your best not to overexpose yourself - blowing up accounts uses up emotional capital as well as money. Don't hesitate to pause and regroup if the going gets tough, as at times it inevitably will.

Position size is everything, really, and you can only get there with consistent results and good money management. Take your time and good luck.

250 trades seems like a lot to me for 3 months, do not overtrade, bu then again i don't know your system, so whatever suits you...

like jtrade said, it's about consistency.
also, the profit is not really important now, it's the pip count that matters really. why ? because if you make 1000 pips per month and your pip is now worth $0.1 then you have made $100 for the month. not much one would say.

but be patient. sooner or later, with consistency your account will grow exponentially and you will soon be trading with a pip worth $1, $2, $5 and so.
$5000 a month for a couple of clicks isn't bad, is it ?

What the others said.
Drawdown is too high; some brokers'll give you a margin call (FXCM Micro ~1/3 account) before yours.
Consistency: It's easy to double your money in a minute, nearly impossible to keep +10% in your account overnight. Go figure.

new traders have a habit of closing winners too early...
You need to be live for awhile to get used to $'s.

Hi,
I remember reading a post on a forum, when i started my education
in trading, which stated that you should have made a profit for six
consecutive months when demo/paper trading - before considering
going live, and when you do start trading with real money, you should
trade a small amount until, again, you've made a profit for 6 consecutive
months.
This person emphasised the point that until you've enough
knowledge, experience and discipline to make a profit for this length
of time, with a small stake, then trading larger amounts at the beginning,
won't be compensation for your lack of ability.

If you could turn $1 into $500, you should be ready to open a Mini/Micro account. Be fore warned though, there is a psychological offset between trading live and demo. Trading demo, money lose isn't an invested interest as it is with a live account.

When real money is on the table, new traders tend to closeout positions too early, second guess their trading decision or think too much into a trade, or hesitate in fear in losing money. Just remember, it's a completely different dynamic of trading when real money is involved.

Nice info,

Thanks,

Constin

Trade profitably for 3 months in row in demo. Open micro account and trade profitably for 3 months in a row with a very small amount of money. Add 50% of the entire stake profitably for 3 moths in a row. Go full stake. Any failure start back in demo.