What is Paper Trading?

Paper trading is more commonly used in an institutional setting. It is what we in the Forex trading or CFD industry call Demo Trading. The term ‘paper trading’ comes from the stock market, where investors who wanted to practice would write their investment ideas on paper and follow the market movements, to see if their ideas panned out.
There are many types of traders, including more short term and those who keep positions open for the longer term. Common to all new traders is hesitation when it comes to placing trades and of course, concern at losing money from their trading.

Whilst all types of trading come with risks, brokers offer a variety of tools to help first-time traders to improve their trading skills before committing real funds. One of these tools is called “paper trading”, although as mentioned, you are less likely to hear the term since we use the term Demo trading.

Create Account Continue with Demo

Advantages of Paper Trading In Australia

  • Trading without the risk
    Demo accounts come with many benefits and are widely used by first time traders who want to practice and learn how to trade before they trade with real money. More experienced traders use demo accounts to test out their strategies or to test-drive a new platform they haven’t used before. For new traders it is an excellent way to learn about the market, and most importantly to learn about yourself as a trader. Needless to say, this is a very useful tool in the trading world.
    On the downside though, for a new trader, trading in a simulated environment without committing real funds, feels very different from a real account scenario where real money is at stake. With demo trading, the psychological aspects of trading don’t come into play, like fear and greed.
  • How it Works
    Using a demo account allows first time traders to experience and trade with an account that looks and acts similarly to the real online trading accounts traders use. Demo account users receive an amount of virtual money in the beginning, and can start trading by opening selling and buying positions. Just like a real account, the paper trade account in Australia shows market movements on the traders’ screens, so they can decide if they should continue their trade or get out. This all contributes to assessing their actions, learning from them and getting ready to start trading in their real Australian account.
    For demo account users it is not only important to practise on demo accounts, but also to look back at their actions and learn from them. This is also important for more experienced traders, who want to practise on the demo account. They need to check if their trades and strategies proved to be as successful as they had hoped, and of course, they will use this knowledge to optimise their performance on the back of it.

Disadvantages of Paper Trading In Australia

However, there are some risks to paper trading that should not be ignored. Some people would advise not to begin with a demo account for a number of reasons.

  • Euphoria Trading
    The main one, according to them, is the sense of euphoria that paper trading can give. Since there is no real money being used, traders can take risks that they otherwise wouldn’t, thus expanding their profits. A case of money loss, on the other hand, is often not taken very seriously since, it’s not real money that’s being lost. There is another disadvantage; since it’s not their money they are trading with, they won’t always follow the market and respond as they would if it was their own money.
  • Delayed Data
    Some demo accounts do not use exactly up-to-date information but delay it by 15-20 minutes, so the data is not used by competitors. Others display fake data, but the main goal remains the same – to get traders ready for Forex trading in the Australian market. The tool is very common and used worldwide by brokers on all types of markets – Forex, bonds, stocks trading, commodities trading, option trading etc. Due to the fact there is not real money that’s been put in, it’s often called “Paper money”, “Monopoly money” etc.

Other recommended guides:

Should You Use Paper Trading in Australia?

At the end of the day, should first-time traders use paper trading? Should they open a demo account before trading in the real market?

The answer is yes, as long as they remember how to work with it properly. A few simple guidelines would dramatically increase the effectiveness of a demo account.

  • Treat it as a proper real account
    This will not only overcome the main obstacle of demo accounts, but will ease the transition from demo accounts to real accounts. Paper trading might seem easy, but there is an important part missing. Real trading involves a lot of emotions, which can be a plus since trades are more involved and invested. But this can lead to negative consequences – emotional trading, with no real thought or research and ending with money loss. This is usually not part of trading with demo accounts due to its nature, and as long as this difference is remembered and taken into account, the transition from demo to real will be more successful.

  • Learn as much as possible
    It is highly recommended to practice on a demo account while reading up on the trading articles and educational content concerning the markets you wish to trade. Once you’ve got a good understanding of the trading platform and the markets you wish to trade on you’ll be better prepared for the real market.  We recommend using the demo account for a couple of days, while simultaneously reading relevant materials, and then start trading while it is all fresh.

Best Practices for Paper Trading

Paper trading is a powerful tool for developing and refining trading strategies without financial risk. However, to truly benefit from it, traders must approach it with structure and discipline.

Set Realistic Trading Goals

Define clear objectives that mirror your live trading aspirations. Whether your focus is on achieving a specific return percentage, improving risk management, or mastering a particular strategy, your goals should align with your broader trading plan.

By setting realistic and measurable targets, you create a structured approach that enhances learning and performance.

Maintain a Trading Journal

A trading journal is an invaluable resource for tracking progress. Record every trade, including the rationale, entry and exit points, market conditions, and outcomes.

Regularly reviewing this journal helps identify patterns, strengths and areas for improvement, allowing for continuous strategy refinement.

Simulate Real-World Conditions

To gain meaningful insights from paper trading, ensure that your practice environment closely resembles live market conditions. This means:

  • Setting a virtual capital amount similar to your intended real trading balance.
  • Accounting for transaction costs like spreads, commissions and slippage.
  • Avoiding unrealistic execution fills that wouldn’t occur in a live market.

By treating paper trading as if it were real, traders can build confidence and develop habits that translate effectively into live markets.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

While paper trading offers a risk-free learning environment, approaching it incorrectly can lead to bad habits. Here are some pitfalls to avoid:

Overtrading Without a Strategy

Since there’s no real capital at stake, traders sometimes place excessive trades without a well-defined plan. This can lead to reckless decision-making that doesn’t align with real-world trading discipline. Establishing a structured strategy and sticking to it is crucial for effective learning.

Ignoring Transaction Costs

Live trading comes with costs like spreads, commissions and slippage that impact profitability. Traders who overlook these elements in paper trading may develop unrealistic expectations when transitioning to a live account. Always factor in these costs to ensure accurate performance evaluation.

Emotional Detachment

A common misconception is that emotions don’t play a role in paper trading. However, dismissing the psychological aspect can be counterproductive. Traders who don’t take paper trading seriously may struggle to manage emotions when real money is at risk.

By instilling discipline from the start, traders can cultivate a mindset that supports long-term success.

Paper trading account

So now it’s time for you to open a paper trading account. Start testing out the different trading strategies and techniques we talk about in our education section. You can start by identifying trends and then using simple moving averages, before moving up.

Try and spot your own emotional reactions to different trade outcomes, as understanding how this affects your trades will be a massive advantage in improving your skill level prior to risking real money.

Transitioning to Live Trading

Moving from paper trading to a live account is a significant step that requires careful preparation.

Start Small

Begin with a modest amount of real capital to experience the psychological impact of risk while keeping potential losses manageable. As your confidence and consistency grow, gradually increase position sizes to align with your trading plan.

Manage Emotions Effectively

The biggest shift when moving to live trading is dealing with emotions, especially fear and greed, which can influence decision-making.

While paper trading helps refine technical skills, it cannot fully replicate the psychological pressures of real trading. Sticking to a predefined strategy and practising emotional control is essential.

Reassess Risk Management

Risk management should be a top priority when transitioning to live trading. Implement strategies such as:

  • Stop-loss orders to protect against excessive losses.
  • Position sizing techniques to control exposure.
  • Realistic profit targets to ensure sustainable growth.

By making the transition gradually and with a disciplined mindset, traders can apply their paper trading experience effectively and navigate the live markets with confidence.

Ready to take your trading to the next level? Start paper trading with AvaTrade today and build the skills you need for real-market success.

Register Now Or Try Free Demo

Paper Trading In Australia Main FAQs

  • Why is paper trade important?

    Paper trading gives you something approaching hands-on experience, which is far more valuable than simply theoretical knowledge. You can be a genius with theoretical knowledge, but when faced with the pace of movement in real market trading environments you could freeze-up and fail miserably. So, paper trading can teach you valuable lessons about real-world trading that you can’t learn from other sources. And while paper trading won’t fill in all your learning needs it is one zero-risk method for improving on your trading.

  • Who can benefit from paper trade?

    Paper trading is considered to be very useful for new traders, but in truth it can benefit anyone, even professionals use paper trading when they are developing a new strategy. And while you might be impatient to get to trading with real money, the benefits to be gained from paper trading are incalculable. Taking the time to test your trading strategy with paper trading could mean the difference between a profitable trading career, and a huge disappointment. Paper trading can also help remove the emotions from your trading since you aren’t risking real money.

  • How can you get the most from trade?

    Paper trading without a plan isn’t going to help you much in the long-run. You have to treat your paper trading just as carefully as you would handle real money trading. That means instead of starting with the $1 million demo account you’ll likely be faced with, you should start with a realistic amount of money in your demo account. That might be $10,000 or it might be $1,000. Then you need to record everything about your trades. Why you took the trade. What your exit target is and why. What actually happened with the trade. Afterwards you can go back to determine how you might have made the trade more profitable, or less of a loss.