What it teaches well
Where the buttons are. How to place a stop, how to size a position, what happens at rollover, how your broker’s platform behaves. Making those mistakes with fake money is straightforwardly better than making them with real money.
What it cannot teach
How you behave when the money is yours. Every difficult part of trading — holding a loser, taking a loss, sizing down after a bad run — is a reaction to real consequence, and a demo has none. This is why demo results so rarely survive the transition.
How to make it useful
Trade the demo at the size you will actually use, not the balance the broker handed you. A $100,000 demo when you intend to fund $500 teaches habits that will ruin the real account. Journal the demo trades exactly as you would real ones.
When to stop
When you can follow your own rules for a period of trades without breaking them, and when the platform holds no surprises. Not when the demo is profitable, which mostly measures how large the demo balance was.
In short
| Real | Prices, spreads, platform |
|---|---|
| Not real | Consequence |
| Set the balance | To what you will actually fund |
| Journal it | Exactly as you would real trades |
Common questions
How long should I stay on demo?
Long enough to stop making mechanical mistakes and to follow your own rules consistently. That is a behaviour, not a profit figure, and it usually takes longer than people expect.
Why do my demo results not transfer?
Because the demo removed the part that was hard. It is not a flaw in you; it is what a consequence-free environment does to everyone.
Should I demo trade forever instead?
Some people do, and it is a legitimate way to enjoy markets without risking money. It is not a route to real trading, because the skill it builds stops at the point where real trading begins.
Trading forex and CFDs on margin carries a high level of risk. Most retail accounts lose money. Nothing on this page is financial advice or a recommendation to trade.