so ive been reading up lately on a lot of forums. and i am woundering what do u need to start paper trading. do u need some kind of software or tools? and when you're ready to start trading, what kind of programs and tools would you need to get going? not interested in any huge trading, but more for some small experince.
http://www.interactivebrokers.com/toolbox/servlet/FreelanceTools.current http://www.futures-trader.net/ pick one of these
What kind of paper trading do you want to do. Funky and Vhehn I think are making the assumption you want to do short term futures trading and this may not be the case. The Nina trader and futures-trader and programs like this are great tools for this but if you are interested in testing some swing trading stock strategy you may be better off looking at a website like www.marketocracy.com or www.investorfactory.com that will mark your trades for you and you won't be able to fudge your results. If you only want to trade an end-of-day stock strategy maybe a simple excel spreadsheet is good enough. When your ready to trade for real the same applies. If you are planning to start small I would go with interactive brokers and deposit the minimum amount of 2000 us. Commissions are a major cost to a small account and IB's rates are excellent , especially for small trades. Have some sort of strategy before you start trading for real. Know why you want to get in or out of a position and try your best to stick with your plan. Try to find a strategy that suits you. If you are more long-term oriented an e-mini scalping strategy won't work well for you. You will need to do much experimenting and learning. Try to keep the tuition costs (trading losses) as low as possible. Don't put too much in any one position. Stay away from leveraged positions like futures and buying on margin for now. Options are seductive but can also get you in a lot of trouble. Good Luck!