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Demo Trading: How good were you before you went live?

  • #1
  • First Post: Jun 8, 2011 8:38pm Jun 8, 2011 8:38pm
I'm curious to know how good some of you guys got at demo trading before you attempted live. Did you wait for 'x' amount of proft on your demo account (profit percentage wise). Or did you just dismiss demo trading all together?
Keep it simple stupid
  • #2
  • Jun 8, 2011 8:54pm Jun 8, 2011 8:54pm
i was sure that i am profitable in demo before i went live.

as in i had a set of rules (we call it a strategy or edge) and followed them using demo.

I was succesful for about2 months and then i switched to live.

But on live even though I was following the same strategy as demo, I still lost money. It was not about it being live but rather I was still inexperienced. But it is all good. Part of the journey.

To sum it up:
I thought I was damn good at demo phase. Moved on to live and realized I wasn't. I doubt anyone will be good with less than 2 years of trading experience (live or demo) unless you are under tutelage of a very good mentor.
  • #3
  • Jun 8, 2011 8:56pm Jun 8, 2011 8:56pm
Quoting Novak
I'm curious to know how good some of you guys got at demo trading before you attempted live. Did you wait for 'x' amount of proft on your demo account (profit percentage wise). Or did you just dismiss demo trading all together?
Well, I skipped demo trading and started on live trading using really small lots. My forex "sensei" is of the view that demo trading is utterly useless since he believes in the 80% (psychology and money management)-10% (skills) - 10% (luck) rule. Since one never feels anxious playing with monopoly money, one doesn't get to practice psychology and proper money management in demo trading. I think my teacher is completely right.
  • #4
  • Jun 8, 2011 9:18pm Jun 8, 2011 9:18pm
Quoting Amanda2
Well, I skipped demo trading and started on live trading using really small lots. My forex "sensei" is of the view that demo trading is utterly useless since he believes in the 80% (psychology and money management)-10% (skills) - 10% (luck) rule. Since one never feels anxious playing with monopoly money, one doesn't get to practice psychology and proper money management in demo trading. I think my teacher is completely right.
Interesting. Well I have heard from people that it is important to actually feel as if your demo account is real, believe that it is real so that it adds a bit of psychological factors into it. Take this analogy for example: a pilot undergoes simulator training, in a large machine that actually moves (much like a video game). The pilot doesn't have that psychological factor to add into his training, but it is very important because his, and others, lively-hoods are at stake, for when he enters the real deal (live trading, or flying for the sake of the analogy).

I have also heard similar breakdowns of things that require skill, and discipline. Mainly the sport of wrestling. People say that wrestling or fighting is about 15% mental 25% strength and 60% technique. Interesting that your instructor claims 80% (vast majority) of trading on pyschological factors. I believe that if you know what you are doing, you should easily compensate and make up for a lack of a strong psychological mind.

It's all about being disciplined. Many jobs are psychologically tough, you must be disciplined to succeed. There are only two pains in this life: discipline and regret. The only difference is that discipline weighs in ounces, and regret in tons.
Keep it simple stupid
  • #5
  • Jun 8, 2011 9:24pm Jun 8, 2011 9:24pm
Quoting thelws
i was sure that i am profitable in demo before i went live.

as in i had a set of rules (we call it a strategy or edge) and followed them using demo.

I was succesful for about2 months and then i switched to live.

But on live even though I was following the same strategy as demo, I still lost money. It was not about it being live but rather I was still inexperienced. But it is all good. Part of the journey.

To sum it up:
I thought I was damn good at demo phase. Moved on to live and realized I wasn't. I doubt anyone will be good with less...

Do you recall how many trades you entered and exited during those two months? I was curious to know because I'd assume the more trades a person makes during any given time, they'd gain more experience. Whereas, the guy who does 1-2 trades in 2 months time and profits 10%, versus, a guy who makes 80 trades in 2 months time and profits 10% as well. Who get's the better deal? Who is more prepared experience wise?
Keep it simple stupid
  • #6
  • Jun 8, 2011 10:03pm Jun 8, 2011 10:03pm
Quoting Novak
Do you recall how many trades you entered and exited during those two months? I was curious to know because I'd assume the more trades a person makes during any given time, they'd gain more experience. Whereas, the guy who does 1-2 trades in 2 months time and profits 10%, versus, a guy who makes 80 trades in 2 months time and profits 10% as well. Who get's the better deal? Who is more prepared experience wise?
No I can't recall. But that is not the main issue.

Looking back in hindsight, regardless if I was on demo or live I would have lost money in my early days of trading. To begin with, my strategy was not as good as I thought it would be. My psychology of the trade and money management was wrong as well. So regardless if I went live or demo, the result would have been the same. I would have lost money.

You are right when you say that someone learns more if they trade more times. However, some trades happen on longer time frames. For example, my strategy involves 4h breakouts. If you don't know, 4h breakouts rarely produce much signals every month. Back then, I was too impatient to wait for a trade signal and traded too often... causing me to deviate from my winning strategy.

If you are a scalper then it does not apply much to you. You can practice as much as you want on demo or live. But it is often more challenging for those who swing trade or use 1h tf and above. Sometimes waiting and doing nothing can be the hardest thing to do.

My suggestion to you if you use strategies of longer tf to get the forextester program. I'm not affiliated to it but i find it a very good tool to forward test your longer term strategies. The price you pay for the software is miniscule compared to how much more you might lose in the market. Or if you are really cheap, there are some threads in ff on how to backtest on mt4 platforms. Search it out.
  • #7
  • Last Post: Jun 8, 2011 10:07pm Jun 8, 2011 10:07pm
Quoting Novak
I'm curious to know how good some of you guys got at demo trading before you attempted live. Did you wait for 'x' amount of proft on your demo account (profit percentage wise). Or did you just dismiss demo trading all together?
never demo traded, i tried but it becomes boring, losses are miningless and the consentration, focus and keeping feelings in check are not present in demo.

besides i cant take out the money i make
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