Most novice traders are addicted to demo accounts. What could be better, indeed, than to be able to practice trading without the inconvenience of a real loss? And yet, experts say that these disadvantages must be part of the training for it to be really effective. Therefore, free demo accounts are becoming less and less fashionable in the trading market. For professionals, it is simply better to trade without them.
Demo accounts are no longer free
While demo accounts continue to be popular with traders, brokers are offering less and less free access to this tool. From now on, in order to be able to train on a demo account, the new trader must make a minimum first deposit, according to the conditions applied on the portal. A change that requires traders to make a commitment first and practice afterwards. For some brokers, the implementation of this new system is mainly due to the fact that the costs related to the operation of demo accounts are prohibitive. Others, determined to be of service to their clients, however, feel that these practice accounts are simply not beneficial to traders and that it is better to restrict access to them, for their own good.
The real reason is inevitably in the middle of these two explanations, since both the “cost” side and the “psychological” side are a reality in trading.
Indeed, professionals strongly advise traders not to practice with these demo accounts, at least for too long, due to the fact that trading with fictitious money is never the same as real transactions.
Moreover, even if brokers claim that their demo account offers real trading conditions, this type of account does not present all the aspects of reality, particularly with regard to risks. Generally, the trader has a fictitious capital of €25,000 to €100,000 on his demo account, which he can use as he wishes. And even if he doesn’t succeed in his strategies, he doesn’t face any real losses. The trader’s attitudes on a demo account are not the same as when he actually invests his money, because there he can really lose. The only useful point for a beginner is to have access to a demo account with the possibility to test all the types of options available in order to understand the mechanisms.
Bad trading habits
Even though demo accounts now require a first deposit from traders, most novice investors still subscribe to them, convinced that this tool would allow them to practice well. Learning how to trade without risk is not a real apprenticeship, however. In any case, this is what professionals in the field of trading think. The mental state of the trader plays a crucial role in stock market speculation and, since the demonstration platform does not come with the real drawbacks of the market, it does not allow the trader to forge himself psychologically.
However, the majority of traders believe that having made successful trades on the demo account, they are guaranteed to automatically earn on a real trading account. However, when you invest in the real market, there are bound to be emotions, because here it is no longer a question of winning or losing fictitiously. And, according to the experts, it is precisely these emotions that you have to learn how to deal with. Experiences simply cannot be gained without failures, because it is these losses that drive people to adopt good strategies for improvement.
All this to say that the demo account, in the end, is not as effective an exercise tool as it seems. On the contrary, it can lead traders to adopt bad trading habits, even when trading on a real platform. Therefore, it might be time to change tactics and learn how to trade softly on a real account. Especially since demo accounts now imply a commitment on the part of the investor.
Learn to trade without a demo account
Beginning traders often panic at the idea of trading without a demo account. That’s why this training tool is so successful in the trading world. And yet, to become a real investor, you should not be afraid to dive into the real world. All the more so as there are now many support tools available, allowing you to learn how to trade without having to go through a fictitious account. Thus, in order to learn how to trade binary options without a demo account, you have to start by doing some research. Trading courses are now easy to access and are offered for free on the web by brokers such as AnyOption or 24option, which offers a free ebook on its website.
They allow you to learn the very basis of investments, fundamental concepts, market analysis and winning strategies. This is done through various media such as videos, ebooks and seminars. In practice, it is advisable to bet little by little, instead of trying to win the jackpot immediately. You should first learn and apply simple trading strategies until you are comfortable with them. Above all, you should avoid improvising when you are still new to the field of binary options.
What is important is first of all to learn how to control the market, the choice of assets, the right times to open or close transactions, and how to manage one’s investments. Complicated techniques only need to be learned after a few months of practice. It is also essential to learn how to manage your emotional ups and downs, whether in the event of gains or losses. This is the advantage of starting real trading right away, in order to build up a real trader’s mentality.