Paper trading
In short
Paper trading means trading with play money under real market conditions. It tests strategy and discipline before real capital burns.
Its limits are psychological: without real pain, the biggest stress factor is missing. The sensible sequence is paper → tiny amounts → slow scaling, with fixed rules from day one.
How long should one paper trade?
Until rules AND results are stable across at least a few dozen trades — not until the first lucky hit.
Related terms
Information, not investment advice. More of this? The newsletter.