Patterns and strategies come and go…
One day you’re trading dip and rips and crushing it.
And the next, there’s not a dip or rip in sight…
What happened to the day two and three moves that were dominating penny stocks?
Now, you’re hard-pressed to see any stock make a multi-day move with any kind of meaningful volume.
So what’s a trader to do? Sit on your hands and wait it out…?
Sure, that’s an option…
But if you want to grow your account, you’ve gotta be proactive…
You’ve gotta stay in tune with the market, be flexible, and continue to expand your knowledge and trader toolbox.
That means trying new things.
And the best way to do that is without risking your capital…
Here’s how you can do it … Plus, I’m giving you my top tips to help you make the most of it.
Why You Should Paper Trade
The best way to try out trading — or a new strategy — without blowing up your account is to paper trade.
Don’t get caught up in a fantasy and think that you’ll start trying a new strategy and nail it right away…
There’s going to be a learning curve. It’s going to take practice. And it will likely result in losses while you figure it all out.
That’s why you need to paper trade.
Here are my tips to get the most out of your paper trading practice, and my tips on when you should trade live…
Make Your Paper Trades As Real As Possible
Paper trading is easier than real trading … There’s no real money on the line. There’s no emotion, no fear, no greed…
So you’ve gotta try to make it as real as possible.
There are a few ways you can do that…
Trade Your Usual Position Size
In a paper trade, there’s no real money on the line. So practice trading or trying your new strategy with the same position size you would with real money.
That way if you lose, you see the negative red number right in your face.
It shows you exactly how much you would’ve lost if you had real money in the trade.
That way you can’t ignore it if the losses start to stack up. That’s telling you, you need to make some adjustments to your strategy.
Next…
Trade At The Times You Normally Would
If you’re trying out a new afternoon strategy — only trade it in the afternoon.
When you start trading a bunch of random stocks and strategies at random times — you’ll get random results.
Then you won’t know if the strategy you’re actually trying to trade will work with a real account.
You need to practice with the same discipline you would if it was your live account.
When to Trade Live
You can’t learn trading or a new strategy in a day or a month. You’ve gotta show up every day and work at it.
And if you’re not seeing consistent wins with what you’re doing — don’t trade your real money.
As I said, paper trading is easier than real trading. So if you can’t make money paper trading, why would you risk your real money?
Whether you’re a new trader trying out trading for the first time or just trying new strategies, you’ve gotta keep paper trading until it works.
Keep making adjustments to your entries and exits or the criteria for your strategy.
And journal everything so you know what creates winning trades and what creates losing trades.
Once you start to see your strategy working — that’s when you can trade it live.
Download StocksToTrade and start paper trading today.
Not only do you get all our powerful built-in scans and watchlist — you also get our exclusive Oracle support and resistance indicator to help you plan trades.
Have a great day everyone. See you back here tomorrow.
Tim Bohen
Lead Trainer, StocksToTrade