Two art school students were in a bar throwing back shots and comparing their commodity trading spread sheets on their iPhones:
“I am getting so-o-o-o creamed in corn; I have no yen for getting pounded in the loonie; and my affair with silver is finished.”
“Tell me about it, dude. I got burned in coffee; I can’t concentrate on OJ; and I have no interest in 10-years. I yield. I give up.”
“Me too. Lucky we were only paper trading.”
Are you paper trading? Do you feel it’s helping you prepare for trading “live”? Here’s what Bob Prechter wrote in Prechter’s Perspective, May 2009:
Some people advocate (paper trading) as a learning tool, but it is of no value in learning about speculating with real money. Paper trading omits the emotional factor, which is precisely the obstacle that one must overcome to be successful. In fact, it can be detrimental by imbuing the novice with a false sense of security. He may know that he has successfully paper-traded the past six months, thus believing that the next six months with real money will be no different. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
And this from Chapter 2 of The Elliott Wave Principle (Publication Month, January 2001, Posting Date, July 2005):
… absolutely nothing can prepare you fully for the ordeal of risking your own money in the market. paper trading won’t do it… There is no way to understand that battle off the field. Only financial speculation prepares you for financial speculation.
When you’re ready to step into the batter’s box and face some major heat, we’ll help you get some wood on the ball. Our Flash Service gives you real-time trades delivered directly to your email inbox. When we see an opportunity present itself, we’ll instruct you to pull the trigger, and continue to update you with trailing stops as needed.
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