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Originally Posted by Ugly_Dog
one reason not to demo right away is because you can lock in some bad habits that are easier to avoid than to erase!
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Probably you are right - especially long term. But I am trying to trade demo very carefully and trying to make myself believe that it really is my money which I 'try' to identify a 'system or trading plan'. If I wanted to do that on a live account I would already have lost masses of money.
I will go live in the new year with a mini account with the brokers suggested by Alpha, see above. I figure that I might as well start losing small money now so as to fee the pain a bit better. My problem is that I need more training on the charts and I am investing in some more books now. I have just ordered The Logical Trader, for example. I am trying to learn the indicators like you guys, but I am far behind most of you.
What demo trading has identified to me is that I have some serious psychological barriers that i need to overcome. The worst is my tendancy to grab profits as soon as they materialise and let losers run in the stupid assumption that the market 'is sure to return to my wished for levels'. My longterm view of GBP/USD remains that it will break the 1.80 level again and I expect that fairly soon, what with the petrol crisis and the potential for another war in the Gulf.
But I have bad habits and I am really trying to crack them. I am not a gambler and I am not frivolous with money. I earned what I have through hard work and I spend it with care. The Forex challenges the essence of my spending habits, because it can cause big losses at a fast pace.
I am still working to find that right system which at least allows me to protect the essence of my initial capital by limiting my losses to around a 50/50 level. Then I will have more confidence.
pk
