I often see it recommended to traders thinking about trading forex that they first "practice" using a forex demo account before trading live. While I do agree that trading with a demo account for a very short period of time is a good idea just to familiarize yourself with the particular platform you will be using, I do not recommend doing so for very long.
Savvy investors always ask questions like:
Does a forex demo account work just like a live account?
The short answer: No, it does not.
The pricing is always off a little in a demo account and often times it is off by a lot. This does not give an investor a realistic picture of how they'd actually be doing if they were trading live - although again, it is good for getting familiar with the platform.
Forex demo accounts also do not carry with them the same intensity of emotion that you'd have trading in a live account. Learning to control your emotions is in fact one of the hardest things to learn - and the only way to learn how to control these emotions is to actually trade live.
Trading in a demo account for too long can actually teach you bad habits that will be very hard to break once you begin trading live. This is one of the primary reasons for failure with new forex traders.
Another major drawback to a demo account is that you aren't making any money for all the effort you are putting in. This is obviously something that can't be rectified until you start trading live.
The best way to begin trading forex is to trade side by side with a very experienced professional forex trader who has a track record of success. The easiest way to do this is to sign up for a live forex signal service that will send you forex signals in real time. You want the experienced trader to generate the signals for you and then you can match them trade for trade. It is best to use a service that also provides immediate feedback in the form of forums, tutorials, webinars, etc... It can also be extremely helpful to be able to interact with other traders in a forum setting who are using the same signal service. Sometimes others ask questions that you SHOULD have asked and you can also benefit from those that may be a little ahead of you in terms of experience and talent.
I personally like a forex signal service that allows for auto trading of signals. This is because I do not have the time to be at the computer trading forex 24 hours a day and it is nice to be able to make some extra cash from the service I'm subscribed to. So, if you're like me, I strongly suggest you get a service that allows for auto trading (most live signals generated from real traders don't).
Savvy investors always ask questions like:
Does a forex demo account work just like a live account?
The short answer: No, it does not.
The pricing is always off a little in a demo account and often times it is off by a lot. This does not give an investor a realistic picture of how they'd actually be doing if they were trading live - although again, it is good for getting familiar with the platform.
Forex demo accounts also do not carry with them the same intensity of emotion that you'd have trading in a live account. Learning to control your emotions is in fact one of the hardest things to learn - and the only way to learn how to control these emotions is to actually trade live.
Trading in a demo account for too long can actually teach you bad habits that will be very hard to break once you begin trading live. This is one of the primary reasons for failure with new forex traders.
Another major drawback to a demo account is that you aren't making any money for all the effort you are putting in. This is obviously something that can't be rectified until you start trading live.
The best way to begin trading forex is to trade side by side with a very experienced professional forex trader who has a track record of success. The easiest way to do this is to sign up for a live forex signal service that will send you forex signals in real time. You want the experienced trader to generate the signals for you and then you can match them trade for trade. It is best to use a service that also provides immediate feedback in the form of forums, tutorials, webinars, etc... It can also be extremely helpful to be able to interact with other traders in a forum setting who are using the same signal service. Sometimes others ask questions that you SHOULD have asked and you can also benefit from those that may be a little ahead of you in terms of experience and talent.
I personally like a forex signal service that allows for auto trading of signals. This is because I do not have the time to be at the computer trading forex 24 hours a day and it is nice to be able to make some extra cash from the service I'm subscribed to. So, if you're like me, I strongly suggest you get a service that allows for auto trading (most live signals generated from real traders don't).