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Many traders have died penniless, clinging to the belief that there truly was a “holy grail” that could consistently predict the future price action of the market. This would provide a turnkey solution that would eliminate the need for all the planning and preparation, evaluation and analysis, and the execution and trade management skills that are required for discretionary trading. This is not to say that we can’t develop tools that will increase our probability for success, but when all is said and done there are no shortcuts when it comes to being a successful trader. The true “holy grail” is developing the skills that are necessary to consistently make money trading. Learning how to trade, and actual process of trading, is hard work. In fact, I have always considered trading to be a “blue-collar” job, because of the amount of work and emotional control that is required to be successful trader.
SIM trading plays an important role in developing trading skills by providing a pragmatic method for practicing execution and money management skills, but it does have it’s shortcomings when it pertains to developing focus, confidence, patience and discipline. True mental and emotional control cannot truly be tested nor developed, when real money isn’t on the line.
Without trading cash money, there is no accurate way to know how you will react under pressure. When introducing a new product to a market, companies may spend millions of dollars on market research, focus group feedback, and beta testing, but there is no real way they will know if their product will sell until they actually try to sell it. As Steve Jobs put it, "Real artists ship." Until real customers start using and talking about your actual product, you have no real way of knowing what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong.” The same line of thinking is true for SIM versus live trading. SIM trading may be good to “cut-your-teeth” on, but you you need to step up and “just do it” sooner rather than later.
Real traders put in the time and hard work that is required to be profitable, and they trade real money!
Unfortunately, for many it is not obvious. They spend all their time refining their sim methods, then they go cash and through everything out the window and lose a bunch of money. Then maybe they go back to sim, come up with all new methods because obviously they were flawed before (hint: they weren't) and go cash, through everything out the window, and lose a bunch of money. Rinse, repeat.
Eventually they learn to break the cycle and that it takes practice trading CASH not sim to refine the skills and focus on execution instead of method, or they go broke and/or give up
