• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Trading Heroes

Trading Heroes

Forex Trading Education

  • Blog
  • Shop
  • About
  • Login

Stop Studying and Place a Trade Already

Learning is great, but you cannot keep your head stuck in a book forever. Find out how to place your first trade safely and without risking any money.

Home / Trading Psychology / Stop Studying and Place a Trade Already

By Hugh Kimura

Studying

How long have you been “studying” Forex trading?

But how many demo trades have you placed?

If you have not placed a single demo trade yet and you have been studying for more than a week, then stop what you are doing right now and read this post.  I love getting emails from readers, but one of my biggest frustrations is how some people study for months and still have not placed as single demo trade.

I'm not saying that you should start trading with real money right away, in fact I strongly advise against it. But you should at least open a free demo account and start trading with play money.

I actually advise you open a demo account before you really even start learning anything.

Why?

SEE ALSO: The Easiest Way to Automate Your Trading Strategy (without knowing programming)

In this post, I will go over why opening a demo account as soon as you can will help you actually progress and prevent you from being stuck in “learning mode” forever.

Placing a DemoTrade Will Answer These Questions

What is a Pip?

I could give you the academic answer, but that wouldn't do you any good.  You can just place a demo trade and see how much play money you win or lose when the price of a currency pair fluctuates.

See the column that shows the number of pips gained and lost on your demo trade?  Divide that by the dollar amount that you are up or down.  That is your cost per pip.

Trust me, that is all you need to know.  Please do not make it more complicated than that.

How Does Margin Work?

When you place a trade, you should be able to see how much margin you used.  By doing some simple calculations, you should be able to figure out how much you can trade and still stay within your margin limits.

The bottom line is that if you are worrying about margin limits, you are probably trading too big or over trading.  It is really hard to communicate this to anyone who has never actually placed a trade before.

How Much Money do I Need to Trade for a Living?

Just take a look at the balance in your demo account after six months.  That will tell you what you need to trade for a living.  If you are asking this question, then you don't need money…you need experience.

Go get some by trading a demo account. Then you can think about trading from the beach.

Beach

Which Broker Should I Use?

Read the reviews online and try out demo accounts with these brokers.  This is the only way to get a good feel for their platform and their service.

If you have done your research for demo accounts, then you probably know about their live accounts too. This will help you make and educated decision when/if it is time to open a real account.

How Do I Know Which Trading Systems Really Work?

Trade it in a demo account and forward test it. If possible, back test it too.

SEE ALSO: Forex scalping secrets revealed (full interview)

Yes, that is the only way.

You need to find out if the system not only works, but it works with your personality. Two people can trade the exact same system and get totally different results.

It all comes down to having a system that works for the individual trader.

The Bottom Line

When it comes down to it, placing demo trades will teach you more about the mechanics of Forex trading, in a shorter amount of time, than any book.

Don't understand something? Look it up.

That will give you a practical education…information that you actually need, instead of studying the Gross Domestic Product of France for two weeks, which you will probably never use.

It doesn't matter what trading system you use. Just place some trades…it's play money anyway.

Broker Research

I believe in just getting started because you will never know what you really don't know, until you don't know it.  So open a demo account now, it is free and it is not real money. Check out this handy chart from the folks at FXStreet, for finding the best demo broker.

It is mostly for US clients, but it gives you a good list of things to look for in a demo account. Can you guess who I trade with and why?

Demo accounts of Forex brokers
Forex broker demo account comparison

Don't get me wrong, I believe in getting as much education as possible. But a demo account is the right kind of education.

You can…

  • Blow it out as many times as you want.
  • Make all the mistakes you want.
  • Start all over.

You have no more excuses, stop studying and do it now.

If you are not willing to do that, then guess what? You might not have what it takes to become a trader. I sincerely believe that trading is one of the best independent career opportunities in the world. I also believe that anyone who really puts their mind to it can do it.

However, I also know that the majority of people in the world do not have what it takes to become a trader. Since you found this tiny blog, then you are probably one of the select few has a good shot at making it.

Go open that demo account now.

Did you learn a lot more after you opened a demo account? What were the biggest lessons? Let us know in the comments below.

 

Related Articles

19 Inspiring Movies That Show You Anything is Possible
Best For Trading Meditation: Freestyle or Holosync?
Throw Away Your Vision Board and Use This Instead

Category: Trading Psychology Tag: Hesitation Taking Trades

About Hugh Kimura

Hi, I'm Hugh. I'm an independent trader, educator and researcher. I help traders develop their trading psychology and trading strategies. Learn more about me here.

Top

 

Share This Article


First posted: September 17, 2013
Last updated: May 17, 2020

Primary Sidebar

Trading Guides

How to Figure Out Your Trader Personality Profile

The Best Trading Books Ever

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Forex Backtesting

How to Create a Precise Trading Plan (with PDF worksheet)

Footer

Company

  • Support
  • About Trading Heroes
  • Trading Courses and Education
  • T-Shirts & Trading Gear

Tutorials & Guides

  • Recommended Trading Resources
  • Free Forex Trading Course for Beginners
  • The Trading Blog
  • Best Trading Books
  • Forex Trading Strategies
  • The Trading Lifestyle Podcast

Community

  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Private Trading Community
  • Contact
Trading involves substantial risk and there is always the potential for loss. All content on this website is for educational and informational purposes only and is not trading, investment, or medical advice. You should be aware of the risks associated with trading and seek advice from an independent certified financial adviser if you have any doubts. Some links on this page might be affiliate links, where we get a small commission if you purchase through the link. It doesn't cost you anything extra and we only recommend products that we absolutely love. This site uses cookies and using this site means that you agree to the use of cookies.

 

CFTC Rules 4.41 - Hypothetical or Simulated performance results have certain limitations. Unlike an actual performance record, simulated results do not represent actual trading. Also, because the trades have not actually been executed, the results may have under-or-over compensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors, such as lack of liquidity. Simulated trading programs, in general, are also subject to the fact that they are designed with the benefit of hindsight. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profit or losses similar to those shown. Testimonials appearing may not be representative of other clients or customers and is not a guarantee of future performance or success.

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright © 2007–2022 TrueLiving Media LLC | Terms | Privacy | Risk