Can You Practice Trading Without Losing Real Money?
Welcome to DTS Answers. Today’s question is: Can you practice trading without losing real money?
That should not even be a real question. But if you’re listening, there is an important point here. It’s not a question of whether you can, because you can. Of course you can.
But the real point—the critical point—is that you must practice first. It does not matter how much money you have, and it does not matter how much experience you have.
It is a very simple rule: If you’re new, you have to practice first. If you’re not making money, you’re new. I don’t care if you’ve been at it for 10 or 20 years.
Of course, new traders are likely to lose, but there is no reason to lose real money while learning. Believe it or not, however, that is not the most important issue.
When you risk real money—any amount—you stop learning because you start focusing on the money. This is a detriment that very few people understand.
Most brokerages offer simulated trading, or you can track paper trades yourself on a spreadsheet. Then, when you’re making a zillion dollars a day on paper, start risking five bucks.
That’s it: five bucks.
Simply build up a bank, and when you have accumulated enough money—perhaps $50—start risking $10. Build confidence.
If you don’t do this, you will likely have psychological issues throughout your entire trading career.
You can Google and find software for paper trading. But the important next step is to watch the video linked below. I cannot emphasize its importance enough.
It is an absolute fact that untrained traders really struggle, and I don’t want to see anyone losing money. It is bad enough that you may lose time. It is also bad enough that you may lose confidence in technical analysis if you are not doing it properly. But losing money should not be one of the issues.
This video is the only resource I’m providing for this topic. It is available on the DTS Free Stuff page in the Hall of Fame section. Be sure to watch it and check the live link in the description below.
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