Just a FWIW thanks to IB for giving account holders the "paper trade" account.
I've been testing some new futures systems on it. Super useful, but you have to be VERY rigorous, like always, and treat it like a real account.
I log the details of each and every trade in Excel and take pains to make sure I do exactly what would be done with real money. I take profits at the targets, and losses at the stops. Add in some slip and commish, suppress emotion...and viola - darn near real!
Since I have been trading hundreds and hundreds of stocks, over thousands of systematic trades (with a real account! I'm in the market every single day), I have the experience to make this work.
Hmmmm, but when I go live with the futs sys and I'm down 37 points, will I be able to toe the line? You bet!
Systematic trading +
proper backtesting and paper trading = Works For Me.
Good trading to all.
