From Demo to Live: Expecting the unexpected | Forex Factory

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From Demo to Live: Expecting the unexpected

  • #1
  • First Post: Nov 3, 2006 11:18am Nov 3, 2006 11:18am
Hello all,

I've been using a demo account for the past several months and am about to go in the FX market with real money. I have seen people post about how trading live is different from trading on a demo account. Aside from the fear and greed factor, what are some of the things that may catch me by suprise when I start trading live?
  • #2
  • Nov 3, 2006 12:28pm Nov 3, 2006 12:28pm
Hi,

From my personal experienced, this is what happened when I traded live on the first one month.

Sometimes when you had a losing trade, you were thinking about revenge. You wanted a payback after you lost money and this feeling encouraged you to over-leveraged your account. For instance, you entered a trade and lost 30 pips with 2 lots today. You felt stressed out and the next morning, you thought you needed to make money now. You made another trade, but this time you put 4 lots and if you lost again, you doubled it again. Then, you guess what happened. You kept losing money and then at the of the month, you realized your account balance is half of your beginning balance.

Anyway, I've learned from this experience and was glad it was a micro account.

Lesson: learn the right way of money management, never ever thought about revenge and never over-leveraged your trade.
"Even the word impossible says that I M possible"
  • #3
  • Nov 3, 2006 12:32pm Nov 3, 2006 12:32pm
Don't get addicted to trading. And don't feel the need to be in the market all the time. Wait patiently for the right trade. And don't let success or failure get to your head. Try and stay calm all the time.

Good Luck.
  • #4
  • Nov 3, 2006 12:53pm Nov 3, 2006 12:53pm
Demo trading is fine for learning but there’s nothing better for learning than using a real money account. You can find brokers that will let you bet penny pips while you’re still in your learning phase. That means if you have a bad trade and your SL is 30 pips, you lost $0.30 cents. And on the flipside, if you’re trade is good, you made 30 cents. But that’s not the point. The point is whether you’re betting pennies or $10 pips, real money is real money and your brain knows it. I would rather make 30 cents than lose it so it still makes trading more real than a fake demo account. You’ll be surprised when you decide to cut your loses to a 20 cent loss because the trade turned against you and you won’t be happy losing 20 cents

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> The bottom line is when transitioning from a demo account to a real money account, start very, very small. You will make different trading decisions when real money is on the line. That’s just the way it goes.

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> Good luck.
Thanks, Andrew
  • #5
  • Nov 3, 2006 1:37pm Nov 3, 2006 1:37pm
I would strongly recommend Oanda as a first live broker, as you can trade as small as you like live, believe me, this is good.
The breaking of a wave cannot explain the whole sea.
  • #6
  • Nov 3, 2006 2:37pm Nov 3, 2006 2:37pm
I agree that Oanda would be a great first platform to trade penny pips but when you start trading bigger lots, I would not recommend Oanda. They increase their spreads big time during key news events and stop out many good technical trades. They also have some unexplained price spikes as well. I was with them for a while and after being stopped out multiple times on great trades with tight stops, I moved on. I use FX Solutions now and they have been very good for my trading style.
Thanks, Andrew
  • #7
  • Nov 3, 2006 2:58pm Nov 3, 2006 2:58pm
if u won a good one,...you might wont more right away ...greed,...and u might forget that support became resistance or vise versa...
its just money
  • #8
  • Nov 4, 2006 7:32am Nov 4, 2006 7:32am
I've also read in places where people say that your broker might do tricky things with your account by taking out your stops, delaying orders, and price manipulation. How can this be??? Which brokers are widely known for doing things like this? I plan on using fxsol as my broker.
  • #9
  • Nov 5, 2006 6:31am Nov 5, 2006 6:31am
There is no such thing as a perfect broker. You will find they all have their quirks. As I said I use FXSol but if you try to trade news spikes for example, many times the price expires and you can’t get in. The other thing they do is widen the limit order sizes around news time to stop most straddlers. I’ve used about 5 brokers and for my trading style, FX Solutions is at least an honest broker. So many others play against their clients so if they win, you have to lose. Until this industry gets somewhat regulated, there will always be brokers out there who play against their clients. That’s just the nature of the beast right now.
Thanks, Andrew
  • #10
  • Nov 5, 2006 9:46pm Nov 5, 2006 9:46pm

I'm on demo too, never gone live with real money before, than again, I've only started on this monster called Forex. It's a good thread for newbies like us.

How did you guys feel when you made the transition to real money? Was it nerve-wrecking? Have you ever wondered if your strategy might not be the correct one? Were there a lot of doubts going through your mind when you opened a position?

If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions.
  • #11
  • Nov 5, 2006 11:15pm Nov 5, 2006 11:15pm
Quoting easttech
There is no such thing as a perfect broker. You will find they all have their quirks. As I said I use FXSol but if you try to trade news spikes for example, many times the price expires and you can’t get in. The other thing they do is widen the limit order sizes around news time to stop most straddlers. I’ve used about 5 brokers and for my trading style, FX Solutions is at least an honest broker. So many others play against their clients so if they win, you have to lose. Until this industry gets somewhat regulated, there will always be brokers out there who play against their clients. That’s just the nature of the beast right now.
How far in advance of a news event does fxsol widen the limit order sizes and spreads?

Also, I read in a policy statement of theirs that if the company ever went bankrupt, if I have a checking account that I use to wire funds to and from my account could be at risk and included in the bankruptcy proceedings. I was like, "What the....???". Can anyone elaborate on this?
  • #12
  • Nov 5, 2006 11:18pm Nov 5, 2006 11:18pm
Quoting edge-t

I'm on demo too, never gone live with real money before, than again, I've only started on this monster called Forex. It's a good thread for newbies like us.

How did you guys feel when you made the transition to real money? Was it nerve-wrecking? Have you ever wondered if your strategy might not be the correct one? Were there a lot of doubts going through your mind when you opened a position?

It is very, very different psychologically. Why not try a broker who has micro pips so instead of trading one or ten dollars a pip you can trade 25 cents or 50 cents... or even a dime a pip, just to get that Real Account feeling with only some of the risk. Then you can build up your positions to a dollar or ten dollars in the future.

Lou
  • #13
  • Nov 6, 2006 1:49am Nov 6, 2006 1:49am
Quoting edge-t

I'm on demo too, never gone live with real money before, than again, I've only started on this monster called Forex. It's a good thread for newbies like us.

How did you guys feel when you made the transition to real money? Was it nerve-wrecking? Have you ever wondered if your strategy might not be the correct one? Were there a lot of doubts going through your mind when you opened a position?

1. I couldn't sleep at all. I only slept 4 - 6 hours a day.

2. Nervous? Please don't ask this one coz you know my answer...

3. I always thought there was something wrong with my strategy, but actually it wasn't. It was me who thought that way and if I had always trusted my system, I would have made consistent profit from the beginning of my live trading. And back to my earlier live trading, I compared my live trading and my demo trading. My demo trading always outperformed my live trading and it made me wondered what happened and always asked myself why. I asked this question to myself every single day and, finally, found the answer. It was me who didn't trust my system. It was me who always looked at other new system. I really did blame myself. Thanks God, I changed my trading perspective now. I never really get into emotional again coz I really trust my system now.

So, I encourage you to start trading live with micro account and see how it feels to make and lose real money. Don't forget to subscribe free innerworth newsletter (I'm not associate with them) because this newsletter really changed my trading perspective and my psychology. Good luck..!!
"Even the word impossible says that I M possible"
  • #14
  • Nov 6, 2006 2:53am Nov 6, 2006 2:53am
Quoting SkYliNe0511
1. I couldn't sleep at all. I only slept 4 - 6 hours a day.

2. Nervous? Please don't ask this one coz you know my answer...

3. I always thought there was something wrong with my strategy, but actually it wasn't. It was me who thought that way and if I had always trusted my system, I would have made consistent profit from the beginning of my live trading. And back to my earlier live trading, I compared my live trading and my demo trading. My demo trading always outperformed my live trading and it made me wondered what happened and always asked myself why. I asked this question to myself every single day and, finally, found the answer. It was me who didn't trust my system. It was me who always looked at other new system. I really did blame myself. Thanks God, I changed my trading perspective now. I never really get into emotional again coz I really trust my system now.

So, I encourage you to start trading live with micro account and see how it feels to make and lose real money. Don't forget to subscribe free innerworth newsletter (I'm not associate with them) because this newsletter really changed my trading perspective and my psychology. Good luck..!!
Well, I'm feeling what you're talking about even on a demo. I can't imagine the moment I go with real money. I'm learning to control my emotions bit by bit. I can say is that I'm improving as I go along.

Thanks for the reply, I'll work on mind a little. Happy trading for the new week!
If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions.
  • #15
  • Nov 6, 2006 11:55pm Nov 6, 2006 11:55pm
I am currently happy with FXSol and have had a micro account with them since summer of 2005. I became interested in checking out Oanda as i had heard good things on there low spreads during non news times.

. . . so today i started up a demo account with them and was running my FXSol demo along side Oanda demo. I hope today's log off/on issue with Oanda is not a norm with the live accounts? I could hardly go a full 10 minutes without it being disconnected. And my FX Sol station has been running flawlessly since Sunday at noon pacific. One other thing i noticed, if the Oanda got disconnected the trade station would not get me out at my TP. Now in once case this was fine as the trade went 15 pips past my TP, but the issue was that it did not honor my TP when my tradestation was disconnected.

I've left position trades open for weeks at a time while on vacation with my FXSol account, setting TP/SL and forgetting about the trade, walking away knowing that the FXSol server had the info and would honor the data i sent through my tradestation.

My question is this; Is Oanda's trade station really this buggy? That is a very scary thing to me if it is.

While i've been writting this post, the Oanda TS has logged on/off four times. (I'm on a cable modem at ~1.5Mbps) so my connection is not the issue.

, ( Thom
  • #16
  • Nov 7, 2006 12:52am Nov 7, 2006 12:52am
Accrete, what happened to you is what I saw with Oanda. Presently, I'm using MBT. I WOULD NOT! suggest MBT for a "newbie". A scary platform for the new comer. However, has been wonderful for me.

As to the person going live, like it's been posted several times here, REMEMBER YOUR RULES FOR YOUR SYTEM! If the "system" you're using was/is good enough to allow to feel good about going live, stick to it! Don't take off looking for the "holy grail". Obviously, for you , you've found it. So, stick to your game plan and work your plan! Worked on your demo so, why wouldn't it work now???
  • #17
  • Nov 7, 2006 4:12am Nov 7, 2006 4:12am
Hi, This is all valuable info, I am going live after trading for 1 year on demo, but only seriously for the last five months. I traded my demo as if it were a "real" account and have found a system that works for me. I agree with previous comments that if you find a system that works for you then fine, you dont have to follow the pack.

When I am live I will trade exactly the same as before, nothing will change as I believe that "if it aint broke, dont try and fix it" mentality.
  • #18
  • Nov 7, 2006 6:56am Nov 7, 2006 6:56am
Quoting easttech
There is no such thing as a perfect broker. You will find they all have their quirks. As I said I use FXSol but if you try to trade news spikes for example, many times the price expires and you can’t get in. The other thing they do is widen the limit order sizes around news time to stop most straddlers. I’ve used about 5 brokers and for my trading style, FX Solutions is at least an honest broker. So many others play against their clients so if they win, you have to lose. Until this industry gets somewhat regulated, there will always be brokers out there who play against their clients. That’s just the nature of the beast right now.
I think they have a decent reputation as far as forex brokers go. I know of a large trader(several hundred thousand account balance) who's used them for a while and had no problems.
  • #19
  • Nov 7, 2006 11:02am Nov 7, 2006 11:02am
Quoting musicman007
Hi, This is all valuable info, I am going live after trading for 1 year on demo, but only seriously for the last five months. I traded my demo as if it were a "real" account and have found a system that works for me. I agree with previous comments that if you find a system that works for you then fine, you dont have to follow the pack.

When I am live I will trade exactly the same as before, nothing will change as I believe that "if it aint broke, dont try and fix it" mentality.
Nice attitude. Good luck for your live trading.
"Even the word impossible says that I M possible"
  • #20
  • Nov 8, 2006 5:27am Nov 8, 2006 5:27am
I’m sorry for posting so late but I haven’t been on the forum in a few days. To answer the question about limit orders having their spreads increased at news time with FX Solutions, they usually do this within 30 minutes of a major news release. For example with NFP, if you try to straddle the price, you’ll find you need to set your buy/sell limit orders about 30 pips away from the current price. They do this to stop straddling at news time. With so many whipsaws we’ve seen in the past, I wouldn’t suggest trying to straddle major news events anyway.

I used to like Oanda but their insanely high pip spreads at news time was a killer for trading the news and it also stopped out some nice technical trades I would have going around news time. I heard they have reduced their spreads lately and I’m sure that has to do with all the customers they’ve lost over the past few months and all the bad press they’ve been receiving all over the net.

The other thing about Oanda that’s still a problem is the freezing and disconnects traders get using their trading platform at news time. I don’t know if these are problems because their platform can’t handle the volume of trades at those times or it’s by design to keep a lot of traders out at these times. Either way, it can be very frustrating. They also use a web java based trading platform and those are not the best platforms to trade with. FX Solutions has their own trading platform application you install on your computer and use. You don’t trade with your web browser and I’ve had very few issues with the FX Solutions GTS trading platform.
Thanks, Andrew
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