Live vs demo TE, what's the difference? | Forex Factory

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Live vs demo TE, what's the difference?

  • #1
  • First Post: Edited 3:50am Apr 16, 2016 3:21am | Edited 3:50am
I've noticed that many people don't take demo stats seriously, why ? Assuming that you have an automated strategy there shouldn't be any difference.
  • #2
  • Apr 16, 2016 4:23am Apr 16, 2016 4:23am
Quoting HeyYou
Assuming that you have an automated strategy there shouldn't be any difference.
Are you serious ? You will never have the real market conditions on a demo account.

Demo should be used exclusively for training purpose ... never for profitability analysis ...
MT4/MT5 EAs/Indicators/Alerts coder
  • #3
  • Apr 16, 2016 4:32am Apr 16, 2016 4:32am
Quoting FerruFx
{quote} Are you serious ? You will never have the real market conditions on a demo account. Demo should be used exclusively for training purpose ... never for profitability analysis ...
Very true observation.
For training and testing functionality , demo is fine but for profits only a real account can give statistics that is facts. Anything apart from real accounts is all fiction.
When the going gets tough , the tough get going
  • #4
  • Apr 16, 2016 4:49am Apr 16, 2016 4:49am
Quoting FerruFx
{quote} Are you serious ? You will never have the real market conditions on a demo account. Demo should be used exclusively for training purpose ... never for profitability analysis ...
...
Ghost Rider - WWTBMD?
  • #5
  • Apr 16, 2016 5:44am Apr 16, 2016 5:44am
The biggest difference is "Fear".
  • #6
  • Apr 16, 2016 5:53am Apr 16, 2016 5:53am
Two differences fear and manipulations. In live accounts the trend is deliberately frozen when it is going in your direction and when you are on the wrong side the trend will run as a speed of light.
  • #7
  • Apr 16, 2016 6:01am Apr 16, 2016 6:01am
demo is only for platform test, how to use the trading software, how to make a trade, how to close a trade and so on.
  • #8
  • Apr 16, 2016 6:21am Apr 16, 2016 6:21am
Quoting accuratefx16
Two differences fear and manipulations. In live accounts the trend is deliberately frozen when it is going in your direction and when you are on the wrong side the trend will run as a speed of light.
What you mention is a general feeling of humans. As the saying goes " The grass is greener on the other side".
Some practical scenarios : you are in a queue among many others , you find your line not to be moving as fast as the other lines move.
The bus no. you are waiting is not coming but all other nos. are coming.
When the going gets tough , the tough get going
  • #9
  • Apr 16, 2016 6:25am Apr 16, 2016 6:25am
Actually, there's a very easy way to prove the difference between demo and live trading (whatever the method, automated or not). Start both a live account and a demo account with the same broker and same deposit. Trade your live account and "mirror" those exact same trades to the demo. See which performs better over time.
Ghost Rider - WWTBMD?
  • #10
  • Apr 16, 2016 6:41am Apr 16, 2016 6:41am
Quoting albchr
Actually, there's a very easy way to prove the difference between demo and live trading (whatever the method, automated or not). Start both a live account and a demo account with the same broker and same deposit. Trade your live account and "mirror" those exact same trades to the demo. See which performs better over time.
Ha, that's exactly what I'm doing, mirroring to several live accounts. I have the proof that some brokers really screw you hard! You would never see it otherwise.
  • #11
  • Apr 16, 2016 6:42am Apr 16, 2016 6:42am
Quoting albchr
Actually, there's a very easy way to prove the difference between demo and live trading (whatever the method, automated or not). Start both a live account and a demo account with the same broker and same deposit. Trade your live account and "mirror" those exact same trades to the demo. See which performs better over time.
The results would speak for itself.
When the going gets tough , the tough get going
  • #12
  • Apr 16, 2016 6:47am Apr 16, 2016 6:47am
Quoting albchr
Actually, there's a very easy way to prove the difference between demo and live trading (whatever the method, automated or not). Start both a live account and a demo account with the same broker and same deposit. Trade your live account and "mirror" those exact same trades to the demo. See which performs better over time.

This could be a good reason if the broker is dishonest. But actually I did that with my broker and results were the same . Same feed , same spread and execution speed !
  • #13
  • Apr 16, 2016 6:55am Apr 16, 2016 6:55am
Quoting jen101
{quote} Ha, that's exactly what I'm doing, mirroring to several live accounts. I have the proof that some brokers really screw you hard! You would never see it otherwise.
Yeah, a friend of mine did that a couple years back. He has a successful live trading method and the question of, would there be any difference on a demo came up. The results were nothing sort of eye opening.

I always wonder if all the time & effort we see folks doing in demo testing both back and forward wouldn't be better spent on just learning to trade the market live?

Ghost Rider - WWTBMD?
  • #14
  • Apr 16, 2016 6:59am Apr 16, 2016 6:59am
Quoting HeyYou
{quote} This could be a good reason if the broker is dishonest. But actually I did that with my broker and results were the same . Same feed , same spread and execution speed !
I won't dispute your claim but, I'd say if that's the case you had a rather unique experience from what I have seen and experienced myself as well spoken to others who've tested it. I'd be very interested in seeing your results posted here. Hey, there's a first time for everything I guess.
Ghost Rider - WWTBMD?
  • #15
  • Apr 16, 2016 7:01am Apr 16, 2016 7:01am
Quoting albchr
{quote} Yeah, a friend of mine did that a couple years back. He has a successful live trading method and the question of, would there be any difference on a demo came up. The results were nothing sort of eye opening. I always wonder if all the time & effort we see folks doing in demo testing both back and forward wouldn't be better spent on just learning to trade the market live?
This just shows that you need more than an "edge" to win; you need a big edge!

Quoting HeyYou
{quote} This could be a good reason if the broker is dishonest. But actually I did that with my broker and results were the same . Same feed , same spread and execution speed !
Which broker is that?

Actually, I recently opened an account with Vipro Markets and use both the demo and live. I've watched the spreads and price and they are the same. So far the results are the same, but it's still early days.
  • #16
  • Apr 16, 2016 7:31am Apr 16, 2016 7:31am
Quoting HeyYou
{quote} This could be a good reason if the broker is dishonest. But actually I did that with my broker and results were the same . Same feed , same spread and execution speed !
Agree. The only difference that might be is the execution speed in whatever small amount of time. This is hard to measure, but everything else looks the same. Some slippage comes out sometimes but it doesn't worry me much, cause I don't scalp. I have tried several brokers.
  • #17
  • Apr 16, 2016 12:44pm Apr 16, 2016 12:44pm
Quoting albchr
{quote} I won't dispute your claim but, I'd say if that's the case you had a rather unique experience from what I have seen and experienced myself as well spoken to others who've tested it. I'd be very interested in seeing your results posted here. Hey, there's a first time for everything I guess.



I think that if you're getting different results, then you should consider finding another broker. The only thing i found that may differ is slippage: I never had slippage on demo account. But I've never had slippage on a live account either, at least under 1 lot. Also slippage can be positive or negative so it wouldn't affect the results that much.




P.s. thanks to the good soul who is correcting my "English" (I put it under quotation marks because I know it s**ks).
  • #18
  • Apr 16, 2016 12:47pm Apr 16, 2016 12:47pm
Demo accounts results can be replicated ( Not exactly ) ....if your edge is genuine and have big enough expectancy.
Slippage and Size of the account is the difference from technical point of view. If your expectancy is lets say 1 pip per trade ....than it might just disappear in real trading.
Fear is the biggest difference maker from psychological point of view , depending upon what the money in your live account matters to you. So , if live account is small than Fear should not be issue.

As far as people not taking demo results serious are because you can manipulate demo results via lot of shady tactics ...like
1 Latency exploitation...usually demo feed are slower
2 you can have multiple demo accounts running various strategy ..showing only best result account...hard to pull that stunt of because of spreads and commission...this are just to name a few...pretty sure there are lots of ways to manipulate demo results.

But as i said you can certainly be confident in your demo results if your expectancy or edge is big enough to allow all those pitfalls in live trading.
  • #19
  • Apr 16, 2016 1:33pm Apr 16, 2016 1:33pm
Quoting HeyYou
{quote} I think that if you're getting different results, then you should consider finding another broker. The only thing i found that may differ is slippage: I never had slippage on demo account. But I've never had slippage on a live account either, at least under 1 lot. Also slippage can be positive or negative so it wouldn't affect the results that much. P.s. thanks to the good soul who is correcting my "English" (I put it under quotation marks because I know it s**ks).
I think your English is great! ...

Well, as I said it was a friend of mine that did the tests and he did them on several broker accounts he has. Obviously I can't comment on whatever broker you use. I have a good one and the demo is very "close" to the live but there are differences as you've mentioned. I've also had/seen brokers that weren't even close and by and large, that's a lot of them.

I think that's why most folks don't take demo stats seriously. For the most part, with most brokers, you just can't compare demo vs. live for an accurate (over time) result. Just my 2 cents.
Ghost Rider - WWTBMD?
  • #20
  • Apr 16, 2016 2:31pm Apr 16, 2016 2:31pm
Its upon u wather u use it for your learning or your failure...
Trade fearless not careless...
Syed Mohsin Ali Profit This Month: -392
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