Why your first months should be on a demo account

Every broker offers a demo account: a practice account with virtual money and real market prices. Many beginners skip it because it feels like it does not count. That is a mistake.

What a demo is for

A demo is not for proving you can make money. It is for building habits:

• placing orders with a stop loss every time
• sizing positions correctly without a calculator panic
• following your written plan instead of your mood
• keeping a journal of every trade

If you cannot do these things when the money is virtual, you will not do them when it is real.

Make it realistic

Set the demo balance to the amount you would actually deposit, not 100,000 dollars. Use the same risk per trade you plan to use with real money. Trade only at the times you would really be at your screen.

When to move to real money

A reasonable test is at least 2 to 3 months and 50 or more trades where you followed your plan, kept your risk fixed and wrote down every result. Profit is a bonus, not the target. Discipline is the target.

When you do switch, start with a small account. Emotions feel different when real money moves, and that takes its own practice.

Trading involves risk. This article is education, not financial advice.