Simulated Stock Trading

It is no secret that many new traders end up losing money at first. One way to reduce this risk is to try a simulated stock trading account. This is an excellent way to practice your stock trading without having to risk any money.

Simulated stock trading has many names, commonly it is called paper trading, fantasy stock trading and virtual stock trading.

Fortunately, there are many stock brokers out there that offer simulated stock trading. In my view, two of the best brokers for this are Zecco and TD Ameritrade.

Get over the emotion barrier with virtual trading

I know when I first started trading stocks, I found it extremely difficult to overcome my emotions. I was constantly watching stock prices. I was getting excited one minute, then disappointed the next, along with all the price fluctuations.

This led me to make rash decisions. This ultimately had a dire effect on my trading account.

I know from reading trading forums such as elitetrader and onlinetradersforum that I was far from alone in making these elementary mistakes.

Unfortunately many traders make these mistakes, lose some money and then think they can't make money trading stocks and give up. There are even some that stock trading is a scam after they lose money. This is absolutely not the case.

Simulated stock trading is a fantastic way to help get over the emotion hurdle. I know I certainly should have done a lot more virtual stock trading before I traded a real money account.

Testing Trading Systems

Whether you are a complete novice trader or a highly experienced trader, testing your trading strategy on a fantasy stock trading account prior to trading live can be very helpful.

Not only does it help you become familiar with trading a particular trading system, it also gives you the opportunity to see how it performs under real trading conditions.

When should I try a live trading account?

It is often a good idea for new traders to learn how to trade stocks using a virtual trading account. If you are a new trader, you are likely to make many mistakes. I made plenty of mistakes and many of them ended up costing me money.

By sticking with a simulated trading account initially, your mistakes will not cost you any real money.

I fully understand how you may be very eager to fund a real money account, but I would personally recommend you spend at least three months with virtual stock trading. Preferably 6-12 months.

You can use this time to learn the stock trading basics and to test different trading systems.

Click here to open an account with Zecco

Click here to open account with TD Ameritrade