Practising on demo

Use your demo account to learn how this market behaves and how you behave in it.

Week one: watch

Before you take any trades, watch price for a few sessions. Note how far it typically moves in 15 minutes and how wide the spread is. This helps you choose stops that fit normal movement.

Week two onwards: practise

• Follow fixed hours and a set trade limit.
• Calculate the size for every trade, using a realistic demo balance.
• Place a hard stop and a target of at least three times your risk.
• Record every trade in your journal, including how you felt.

Questions for your weekly review

• Did I stick to my hours?
• Did I follow every rule on every trade?
• Did I want to keep trading after a loss? What did I do?
• Are my stops being hit by normal movement?

A caution on results

Results over a few weeks prove very little, especially on a random-based product. A good run does not mean you have found an edge, and it is not a reason to move to live trading.

Key point

Your goal on demo is proof that you can follow a process. If you decide to trade live, the same rules apply, with an amount you can afford to lose.