How to transition from demo to live

Now that you know what to do and expect in demo trading, here are some tips that will help you make a smooth transition from demo to live trading:

 

1) Start small

You’ll inevitably lose your first (few) trading account(s) so it’s important that you trade with money you can afford to lose.

At the same time, you HAVE TO MAKE SURE that the money you are losing is worth it. This means that you know WHY you are losing and what you can do to stop it. Losing money without learning your lessons is a waste of your money and your time and it will keep you in this loop for a very long time ever.

2) Protect your emotional capital

We said it already, but it’s so important that you really get this point: you’ll inevitably lose money the first year(s), but protecting your emotional capital is even more important. A trader who loses his motivation, the fun and the excitement for trading becomes overly negative and frustrated is very likely to give up on trading completely.

Make sure that you understand your motives, don’t set yourself unrealistic expectations and don’t be too hard on yourself. 

3) Don’t focus on the money

You are not going to make money so it’s important that you focus on the right things during your early stages as a trader. Your top priorities should be developing discipline, trust in your rules and your system, building a strong trading routine and developing a passion for trading.

Those things, along with a strong and conservative money management approach, will make sure that you lay a solid foundation at the beginning which you then can leverage later on.