Honesly, I would avoid paper trading.. and instead get yourself a small stake and start trading for real.... especially if you want to intraday trade. I think paper trading is only valid for swing traders and traders that take multi day positions where price execution is not so relevant. --MIKE
I have used PFG's simulator before. What happened to me was that I got so bogged down with "order maintenance" that I lost my focus on trading. It seems that PFG will never get that simulator working properly(despite all of their promises). When I began to use market orders on all of my trades I got my focus back on trading and off the simulator. I don't know if they've changed any, but it used to be that you got one free month to test the software. It's worth it to go ahead and continue to use the simulator for the rest of your free month and then step up to real trading using real money. After all the real lessons begin when you use real money. In no way am I endorsing PFG as a broker, although I find that their simulator has been helpful.
March 10, 2003 Today I made a few trades, but I don't know if I am up or down, because it seems my account is empty and it didn't show any trades. Spreadem: Most of the time, I use market order to get into the trades, cuz I know if I bid/offer into a trade, it would most likely not go my way. Unfortunately, PFG is getting worst. Market orders would be pending for a couple of hours and then get rejected--that is if you are lucky. I got my market order executed on Friday and it sure wasn't going my way then. I have used a free month and I have purchased an extra month to trade, but now I am not sure if that was the right choice. Anyway, I am gonna stop trading and focus on my career path. I am gonna come back to trading another time when I acquired a better mentality. I hope the market will still be here in the US. Virtual Trader
That sounds like a good idea. The market will be here when you're ready. Sometimes the best thing to do is to get away from the market for a little while.