Learning by Doing

You can read as many books as you want about investments, markets, or money management but until you actually put it into practice you most likely won't be fully absorbing the information. Sure you can paper trade or use a demo account but there are always real life factors that can't be simulated.

For example, you aren't always emotionally attached to your demo money. If you lose all your demo money you can always press reset and start again. You say things such as, "Oh in real life I wouldn't have done that anyways." or "I was just trying something new to see how it goes." No matter how hard one tries, demo money just isn't real.

Another good example is execution. Can what you do in practice mode be done in real life? When you click buy & sell on your demo trading platform, the trade always goes through, but in real life does that really always happen? What happens when the market is overwhelmed and the prices gap or spike? Can you still close your trade fast enough?

Remember to take these types of factors into account when you practice! Remember, whether you pay to take a course or just dive in and trade for real, you're probably going to pay somebody. Remember not to risk anything you can't afford to lose!

see you next time,... because thePaperBoy knows his paper