Hey Im just starting out looking into trading and I'm in search of a sim to use and wondered what you guys thought a good one to check out would be. I understand a lot of ppl on here don't think sims are a wise investment of time since trading with real money has an entirely different feel but regardless I want to check it out and get used to watching the market ect ect. I havnt ever traded before and it's a relatively young pursuit of mine. With this said I again don't care what ppl don't think I'm capable of so naysaying has no place here. I'm committed to pursuing this to the fullest if I decide to jump. I'm very disciplined emotions wise so risk management and blowing up early I find doubtful. I'm happy as is in life and day trading would be something I cultivate and grow overtime, it's only money. I'm an optimist obviously, but I'm also a realist (yes the two can coexist) and trading is possible for me beyond any doubt it's coming down only to education and commitment. SO! Any constructive advice is welcome even if it's critical, raw negativity and constructive criticism are entirely different animals. As for start up capital I'm not sure yet.... I have about 45k-50k in the bank but I have to continue evaluating my expenses to give a real answer. Thanks in advance!
SIM trading if you are scalping is mostly an exercise in futility because they are easy to manipulate and fills are easy. If you're trading longer term, sim trading is useful but still not even close to the value you'd get out of trading small in a real account.
I'm not naysaying but I think there is more to it than education and commitment. There are a lot of 'getting started' threads where people give the same advice over and over. I think the way to do it is to put your $50k in a trust that will give you $5k every six months or so to trade with.
BillySimas I totally agree, getting into a sim has a lot to do with familiarizing myself with an interface and reading charts in real time. Trading itself on a sim would happen eventually but right now I'm looking for real world exposure to how things move, what feels most comfortable, and then the eventual testing of strategies. As for scalping I've been reading a lot and watching videos and getting orders filled seems to always be the most stressful difficult part (obviously reading the trend is the hardest they just make it look easy) so I'm aware of that reality. Caementarius I like that idea for some obvious reasons. However I think it might be riskier to my money to trade with such low capital widdling everything away in commissions.... Unless somebody has a commission system that is friendly to smaller accounts? Then that definitely seems like the way to go for building experience. Thanks you guys! Keep it coming!
Have chosen your market? Stocks? Options? Futures? For stocks and options, Interactive Brokers and Thinkorswim are both quite good. For futures, I like AT Infinity.
Some things just stick in my mind forever. I read your post and remembered a few lines in a book I bought almost 20 years ago. I've shared these lines many times to "new guys" over the years. The title of the book is; The Futures Game, Who Wins Who Loses Why? (second edition) On page 260, {A plan should give the trader a chance to try again. The alternative to planning is "watching the market," which usually results in trades being made in response to haphazard impulses triggered by random news items or hunches. It also results in considerable time being wasted watching a tape or a quotation board, time that could be used more productively by doing almost anything else.} On page 321, {It is difficult to discuss the development of skills that cannot be internalized adequately except by experience.} Good trading <*)))><
Went Fishing that's fantastic advice thank you, I never saw it that way I still would like to get that screentime just for familiarity when reading into strategies and such so i have reference to what they maybe talking about but nonetheless what you say is incredibly applicable. Thanks for potentially saving me an ass ton of time! As for which market I'll be in I havnt decided. Thoughts?
Get this book: http://www.amazon.com/Enhancing-Trader-Performance-Strategies-Psychology/dp/0470038667 It will teach you how to LEARN to trade. If anyone ever tells you 'trading live is different from sim' then they are most likely amateur/losing traders. If trading live causes you to suffer from emotional/discipline issues then you are most likely under capitalized, untrained and unprofitable.
You'll get better fills with IB on stock, options, and futures. Plus they're cheaper than infinity now as well.
Try out the TT X-trader if you are interested in scalping. Contrary to the earlier post the most important thing in learning to read the market is screen time and watching the order book for hours and hours on end. Good luck. Take it from someone more famous if you like: As Paul Rotter (most profitable Eurex scalper) was asked q: what has one to do if he wants to become a scalper? a: he has to watch the order book for a very long time. http://www.trading-naked.com/paul_rotter.htm