Stop paper trading.

Okay I have been lurking in the sub for a while and I constantly see people giving newbies advice to start with paper trading.

It’s not worth it. Bear with me while I explain.

For some background, I’m indian. Have been in the markets since 2021. And I can proudly I say I have never blown up an account. I have been trading options for the past 3 years and Im fairly profitable doing this full time. Now I don’t know if you heard this, the indian market conditions are now a shitstrom due to constant regulatory involvements. So I have been looking into prop firms to trade foreign stable markets.

Now coming to my point. Its is not worth is to start with paper trading. It’s 2024 people! Theres tons and tons of learning materials free of charge on youtube. “Everyone blows their account, it’s Normal”.

No it’s not!

All of you have heard trading is a mental game. You are never gonna learn the mental aspects of trading unless you trade with your own money. Dealing with losses, overtrading, taking trades unnecessarily, Booking profits early to reach breakeven only to realize the markets went even further!!

All the above mentioned aspects you wont learn with paper trading.

So do yourself a favor, buy some challenges or trade with a small capital and try risking 5,10 dollars per trade. Maintain a journal. And do a review after one month! And see the magic. You will realize you need to hold your winners and stop taking impulse trades. You will realize, If you did that you would be above breakeven or hell in profits. Rinse and repeat till you gain confidence.

Don’t go the safe way by paper trading. Building confidence in your setup and when u start the real deal, only to realize you don’t have the friggin psychology to trade your golden setup with confidence.

-Lynx

EDIT:- As I expected half the people agree and half the people don’t. Thats absolutely fine. It’s okay to have differences in opinions. Just like bulls and bears. How else would the market move if we all agreed in the same thing.

This advice is meant for only some people. Not all. You know who you are. You are better off starting with the real thing in a small amount.