Is there a benefit to paper trading?

[Wallace]

first chart's made with MetaStock
program includes 'Expert Advisors' - trading systems, most of which are krap, but one can
build/write one's own system that will work.
the EA on the chart is 'MACD'
one trades the blue and red arrows only
that's to say one does not make additional interpretations of what one 'thinks' the price
is doing, or going to do
and trade one's 'thought'.

second chart's from NinjaTrader based on the UniRenko bar type.
the Renko chart like others is not 'time based'. this means that some tools/indicators
won't work on the chart.
what works well with the Renko bars is the MACD, but no arrows,
one simply trades the turns.
Buy the Green, Sell the Red; Sell the Red, Buy the Green.
is the macd redundant, s'up to u.

 

[Grantx]

The unirenko one is not a bad idea but something Ive learnt is the faster the setting the quicker those bars appear, so you might get a reversal signal but price will instantly be a few bars into the reversal before you can react. Useless in a quick market so you need to use a larger bar size for this to be effective.
Also the beauty of unirenko is the 'slap in the face' obvious reversal signals its provides. Levels are so easy to see as well.
I like unirenko.

 

[Wallace]

Hey Grantx, yes you're correct about streaming bars - no 'time' involved.

However, time bars drop or rise instantly so it's the same problem isn't it,
chasing a trade.

That sort of thing was surprising me with the Trump-Kim Jong-un exchanges
the past couple of weeks, dumps out of the blue, mind you, any excuse for a
rally up or down eh ?

 

[rin4et]

I held a 1k position today for 18%. I still didn't follow my exit strategy but I am getting better

 

[777]

I am having trouble sticking to my strategy /plan. Someone told me paper trading will help.
Currently I use a position size of $3k. Do you think reducing my position size would help to take emotion out of the equation so I can learn to trust my strategy and stick to it? Or is paper trading a better option to get over this hurdle?
I am a discretionary trader that trades stocks. Would love to hear from other experienced discretionary traders. Was paper trading useful or is it better to use small position size instead?


Thanks!

Since you are trading live, you should ask yourself:

What is my edge (do I have positive expectancy on my trades)?

How do I know this?

REALLY. None of the things you mention will make you a winner if you do not have positive expectancy on your trades.
_____

All of that said, some people try new ideas for 100 shares a pop, even experienced professional traders.

Others practice up a new idea on a simulator.

Others program, or have someone program, an idea and test it on past data.

 

[rin4et]

Since you are trading live, you should ask yourself:

What is my edge (do I have positive expectancy on my trades)?

How do I know this?

Yes I have an edge I have tested it past couple years.

 

[777]

I trade commission free. So no worries.

How do you trade commission free and have direct access?
___

Not saying this is what you are doing because I do not know, but trading free trades on say a banks retail platform can almost never end well.

The execution is too slow and best prices are often not obtained because orders do not go directly to the market- they are often sold.

 

[777]

With day trading there is no time to think. By the time it takes me to calculate how many shares of a stock that is trading @ $14.2 I can buy with 3k and then typing my order in, one minute goes by and the stock has already taken off.
Also I rarely trade stocks that are more than $15 due to low beta.

Many winning traders who need speed are on a professional trading platform with hot keys/ and may even be partially automated.

What trading platform do you use?

 

[Hooter]

if you are not profitable trading paper with a real time sim, no way will you make $ in real life. Papertrading is a must for learning new platforms and trying new strategies.

 

[Traderjohnsblog]

How do you trade commission free and have direct access?
___

Not saying this is what you are doing because I do not know, but trading free trades on say a banks retail platform can almost never end well.

The execution is too slow and best prices are often not obtained because orders do not go directly to the market- they are often sold.

Did we ever find out how she trades commission free?