Mirror trading a paper account

G

GotherL

95% traders lose money daytrading. But almost everyone makes money paper trading. I have turned $1000 into 10000%+ consistently over a few months paper trading. So I am wondering why don't investors just mirror trades of those profitably paper trading without emotions instead of those trading in a real account where emotions greatly affect their performance? If they're making monster returns paper trading in real time and your mirroring their trades to near exacto. What difference does it make that they're not using a real money account?
 
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GotherL said:
95% traders lose money daytrading. But almost everyone makes money paper trading. I have turned $1000 into 10000%+ consistently over a few months paper trading. So I am wondering why don't investors just mirror trades of those profitably paper trading without emotions instead of those trading in a real account where emotions greatly affect their performance? If they're making monster returns paper trading in real time and your mirroring their trades to near exacto. What difference does it make that he isn't using a real money account?
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Why not try it and find out?
 
It could work if your strategy provided liquidity. Waiting for the market to come to you. Enter weakness and exit strength.
 
Overnight said:
Why not try it and find out?
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As an investor or trader?
If you mean the latter.

I have thought about C2's web entry, going into proprietary trading or even having my own subscription service alerts. All of them just seem very farfetched.

Any suggestions or am I just stuck having to trade my own money while being under capitalized and a emotional rekt most of the time. (I don't know if I can ever get over the emotions of daytrading in a tiny account.)
 
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GotherL said:
I have turned $1000 into 10000%+ consistently over a few months paper trading.
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To me, something is off. Either your simulator is unrealistic or your leverage is unrealistic, or you are lying to yourself, but you should be able to answer your own question. Psychology plays a role but not to such extent.
 
qlai said:
To me, something is off. Either your simulator is unrealistic or your leverage is unrealistic, or you are lying to yourself, but you should be able to answer your own question. Psychology plays a role but not to such extent.
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I use a simulator offered by my broker starting with $1000 and 4x margin. It's exactly the same when trading in a real account with my broker. Technically speaking! The only difference is you don't have to manually locate shares and your orders don't affect the level 2 but I don't think that part matters unless your trading really big size.

I have a SS of my profitably. However, it's only a day sample size as I only just came up with the idea of taking screenshots after seeing your post but I have been doing this consistently on paper for a while now.

https://i.imgur.com/CamDGUc.jpg
 
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danielc1 said:
If I understand this correctly, you want to get in a flightsimulator in NY and step off in Hawaii?
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The debate is actually whether or not an investor who mimmicks the trades of someone who is profitable paper trading real-time have the same success but with real money.
 
Besides the pressure of losing real money, or even making real money, it can be the fills. Are your fills realistic? If I have a Buy, I have to see the Bid go BELOW before I would consider it really filled. I.e. I only expect to fill a buy at the ASK in live trading*.

Also there is a difference in speed. Simulators usually sit on the brokers server. A live order has to go the same distance and then to the exchange. For IB that is an additional 250 ms.

Then there is the book depth. If you expect to get instant fills always, that is not realistic. Someone has to be on the opposite side.

*Then there is the Que. When you put in a limit order, it goes to the back of the line, I believe. So you could still not get a fill, on a BUY, e.g. even though your limit is at the ASK.

Also you might get partial fills or odd lots.

On IB, they state there is depth, only the top of the book.

Given all the above, you can see the less liquid the instrument, the more unrealistic it could be.

MTP and TLC are ADRs and low volume. They would probably be very different getting fills on entry and exit.

What simulator are you using?
 
Bad_Badness said:
. Are your fills realistic? If I have a Buy, I have to see the Bid go BELOW before I would consider it really filled. I.e. I only expect to fill a buy at the ASK in live trading*.

Also there is a difference in speed. Simulators usually sit on the brokers server. A live order has to go the same distance and then to the exchange. For IB that is an additional 250 ms.

Then there is the book depth. If you expect to get instant fills always, that is not realistic. Someone has to be on the opposite side.

*Then there is the Que. When you put in a limit order, it goes to the back of the line, I believe. So you could still not get a fill, on a BUY, e.g. even though your limit is at the ASK.

Also you might get partial fills or odd lots.

On IB, they state there is depth, only the top of the book.

Given all the above, you can see the less liquid the instrument, the more unrealistic it could be.

MTP and TLC are ADRs and low volume. They would probably be very different getting fills on entry and exit.

What simulator are you using?
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I have not seen any hints that tell me their simulator gives me any technical advantages over their platform in a live account. One thing you've mentioned are partial fills. I don't get that in sim but it's not a game changer. I only get partial fills approximately 1 out of 50 trades.

The real issues is as you say... "The pressure of losing real money, or even making real money." That drastically alters a traders decisions. I can't figure a solution around this. Unless, real money wasn't involved or had a much larger account to give me more cushion.
 
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