Demo Trading vs. Real-Time Forex Trading

Copyright (c) 2009 Jay Meisler

Free forex trading practice accounts, also known as demo accounts, are generally offered by retail forex brokers. Demo accounts offer new traders the opportunity practice forex trading without any risk to their capital. They also allow traders to test out a broker platform for free and to test out trading strategies. It also allows the broker to show its platform and encourage the opening of an account with its firm. The focus of this article is on the new trader and highlights the differences between trading a practice forex trading and real money account.

There is a major difference between forex trading using a practice account where no real money is at risk vs. trading a live account with real capital. It doesn?t matter how much money is at risk. It is very different when trading with real money. This is when psychology and emotion get factored into the mix.

There should be little emotion associated with trading a forex practice account. A position can go against you and it should not trigger any emotion as there is nothing at risk. You can let a losing position run with no concern of losing your capital as only your paper balance will decrease. If the position eventually recovers and makes money, it does not prepare you for real-time forex trading. In fact, it may send the wrong signal that you can hold on to a position indefinitely until you recover a loss. You may get more excited if you make profits trading a demo account but it cannot compare with making real profits with a live account. Experienced traders will tell you to keep emotion out of trading but that is easier said than done, especially for new traders who have not experienced the highs and lows of this business.

It is a different ball game when trading an account funded with real capital. don't care if you risk one dollar or a thousand dollars. There is a difference when real money is at risk. It is difficult to describe what it is like trading with real capital as it is different when your emotions rise watching a position go into the red and seeing your account balance go down. This is especially true for the retail forex trader who often comes into the game either undercapitalized or trading with excessive leverage.

This brings up another issue trading with a demo account. Currency trading practice accounts often come with a $50,000 balance and it is easy to leverage it up since it is only paper money at risk. It is also easy to place a wide stop or no stop at all since you are not risking real capital. It is therefore easier to make money this way if you use excessive leverage, do not use stops and get lucky if it is a time when markets are not trending. If your account gets wiped out, you can always open a new practice account or ask the broker to replenish the existing account. This makes the transition to a live account even more difficult when the reality of trading with limited capital takes over. If your account gets wiped out, you either have to replenish the capital or drop out of the game. Losses are part of the learning process and all traders experience them. It can become even more painful if a trader enters the game with a false sense of confidence.

Now don?t get me wrong. I am not criticizing forex practice accounts. In fact, I think they are a wonderful way to learn how to trade. I wish they were available when I started out. Forex brokers provide a great service to the forex trading community by making them available. My issue is with new traders and how they generally use them. If a currency trader trades a demo account without a systematic approach, disciplined money management, proper use of stops and leverage, looking for good risk/reward trades, etc. then the transition to real-time forex trading may be less painful. On the other hand, if a trader does not trade a demo account as he/she plans to trade in real-time, then practice trading can become a ?fool?s gold.? Nothing will prepare you for the emotion associated with trading real money but if you take advantage of a practice account to hone your skills as if you were trading real-time, it will at least prepare you for currency trading in real-time conditions.