Question to the paper traders... are you working full time jobs trading paper on the side or are you just focused 100% on trading but not ready to risk real money? I really dont understand How you can paper trade for more then a few days. Seems like such a waste of time. When you have a real position on your mind changes completely. How will your paper trading skills cope with that especially if you are a discretionary trader?
depends on the mind and the degree of the method's development some adjustment will be required but not critical
In my case, I just real trade and sim trade a few hours in the morning. The rest of the day I have to attend to my other non-trading business/work/etc. For me, the goal of papertrading is to master the entry, exits, and risk management. It's not just a game to play. I papertrade as closely as I would with a real account. I feel the heat too and exit. I don't say to myself this is not real money let's put on a 100 lots! haha. I mean in the beginning I did. Then I thought it was crazy and waste of time. Now I trade with 5 to 10 lot size, which is pretty realistic once I decide to scale up in my real account.
I think your mind and the method are one and the same thing. To develop your mind / method you need to trade and study the market. Trade small relative to your net worth not to go broke but you learn so much from live trades.
fine with me if one can afford it but keep in mind even if one trades 1 share , just the volume of the commissions will bury most people quite soon
The value in paper trading is to forward test a methodology develop execution skill and develop the confidence to trade it. To qxr's point, it is not a three day process. If someone does not have the time and commitment to do what is necessary, they need to go in another direction. Many platforms have a payback feature to forward test at other times.