Author Bio

A discussion was recently started on the Currensee discussion boards under the title “Did you trade much better with demo accounts?” The responses seen so far suggest that indeed is the case for most traders. Psychology is the noted difference, though there is the legitimate indication that real-world executions and related influences can be part of the story as demo platforms generally assume perfect liquidity and whatnot. I think the contributor responses in New Trader FAQs to the question “Is live trading different than demo trading?” are relevant here. Billy Williams puts it very well:

The difference between demo trading and live trading is much like what a jet pilot goes through initially.

A new pilot candidate will show up to flight school and learn all the inner workings of a jet, receive flight training, gain knowledge of the latest technological attributes of both the jet they will be piloting as well as the jet’s enemy counterpart, conduct flight training under supervised conditions, become familiar with the operation of the jet’s weapon systems, etc.

Then, the day comes when war is declared and there are no more training missions but only real live combat against a formidable enemy. If you’re that pilot on that day when you first take off for your real live combat mission you may find that you have a touch of fear that can be felt deep in your gut, that you breathe a little deeper and faster, that your vision becomes sharper as you scan your radar for signs of the enemy or at the cloud formations around your squadron, that your reaction time is quicker than normal, and so forth.

Like the jet pilot in that scenario, you will find that once you actually have something at risk, and you are trading the market in real time, you too will realize you’re in new territory.

And, also like that pilot, if you have trained yourself well and in truly realistic circumstances with the best tools to give you the highest probability to succeed as well as protect yourself against the unexpected then you will find yourself a successful trader where it counts….in real-time trading.

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Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results.

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Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results. Investor returns may vary from Trade Leader returns based on slippage, fees, broker spreads, volatility or other market conditions.

Author Bio

It can sometimes be pretty lonely standing on our soapbox, waving the transparency flag and calling out passersby who get in Jack the FX Trader’s way (StockTwits, are you listening?). Then we heard about FXBees.com through a review on FX Magnates, and we’ll admit, we were curious. Whenever we hear the words “Forex” and “social network” in the same sentence, our ears perk up a bit (see photo of our Currensee Pips, upon hearing about FXBees.com).

Photo by Erik Veland

FXBees.com is fresh to the Forex social scene, so we’ll cut them some slack, but we do have our reservations:

1. Demo accounts. Demo traders and real traders are the ammonia and bleach of the FX world. In real collaborative trading, every player needs to have something at stake. Want to short the EUR/USD? Well put your money where your mouth is, whether it’s your annual bonus or your lunch money. Any tips or advice from a demo trader should be followed by the disclaimer, “Favorite pairs include Monopoly money and chocolate gold coins.”
2. Blind ignorance. Sounds like FXBees.com lets you scout out the pseudo-shining stars who may be trading in demo accounts and blindly follow them because you trade similar pairs, but you don’t know what their trading strategy is – Fibonacci, Nonfarm Payroll, or cloud formations?

Currensee members share their trading strategies, years of experience, favorite pairs and techniques so you know who you are “getting into a [trading] bed with,” so to speak. Bragging about your performance in pips by itself doesn’t tell a fellow trader much. That’s why Currensee measures individual member performance against the greater Currensee community and the S&P 500.

One of our feature, the Currensee Social Indicators widget, aggregates the Currensee community’s stance on all the major pairs, allowing members to see where our real Forex traders stand on the NZD/JPY.  Whose advice are you going to take – thousands of Forex traders with real money on the table, or the guy “just playing around”?

You already know what we’re all about: real traders, real trades, real time. If we could figure out how to fit it onto a license plate, we’d have them made. In an earlier post, Michelle talked about why we’re having all the fun in this new, democratized Forex market. But with this freedom also comes great responsibility. In a world and a market that is stricken with scams and schemes, we strive everyday to be the voice of Jack (or Jill) the FX Trader who isn’t backed by the big-name banks and attorneys when things turn sour.

FX Magnates sums up the newcomers by saying, “Overall I would say FXBees has promise, but it needs to eliminate demo accounts, and it needs to stress the dangers of blindly following other traders.” We agree on both counts. That’s why Currensee is all about real trades from real traders.

We’re not trying to be harsh on the new kids on the block. In fact, in the spirit of collaboration and transparency, we welcome them to the Forex social media arena. We’ll be watching. Always watching.

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Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results.

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Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results. Investor returns may vary from Trade Leader returns based on slippage, fees, broker spreads, volatility or other market conditions.

Author Bio

There has been much discussion in forums lately suggesting that Currensee should support demo accounts and we certainly understand why people are asking for this.  Let me explain why we do not have any short-term plans to do this.

First off, we recognize the value of demo accounts as a valuable tool for learning, experimentation and for testing trading systems and new approaches.  However there is nothing like real trading.  When real money is on the line, what people may really be willing to do may be quite different.  This is one reason why I personally would never take seriously the performance of a trading system that has no real performance, just back-tested performance in a demo account.  You cannot assume that the leverage used or the distance on the stops would reflect the level of drawdown that the trader would be willing to take with his or her real money.

On the other hand we truly want to keep Currensee about real-time trade collaboration.  This is a guiding principle of our Forex Social Trading Network. And today the best way to ensure this is to make sure that our members have real trading accounts and the trades they are sharing are real trades.  This creates a very powerful social dynamic that cannot exist in traditional forums and chat rooms.  As a trader in Currensee when I make a suggestion to the community that there is an opportunity to go long on the GDP/JPY and I never make the trade then I lose social credibility in the community.  But when I do make that trade – whether I win or lose – my trading friends can rely on the fact that I truly believe with my wallet that this is a valid trading idea.  And when I close my position my trading friends can rely on the fact that I believe that my winnings are sufficient or I cannot tolerate any more loss.  Additionally, our social indicators are based on the actual real trading activity of the Currensee community.  These indicators are growing more interesting by the day as the community grows rapidly, and we want to ensure that our members know that the social indicators are based entirely on real trades.

So if you do have a demo account, we suggest you take your time to prepare yourself for real trading and when you are ready just open your real account and securely link it to Currensee.  Our network is ready to welcome you!

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Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex.  Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results.

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Be sure to read the full risk disclosure before trading Forex. Please note that Forex trading involves significant risk of loss. It is not suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved before trading. Performance, strategies and charts shown are not necessarily predictive of any particular result. And, as always, past performance is no indication of future results. Investor returns may vary from Trade Leader returns based on slippage, fees, broker spreads, volatility or other market conditions.