Are you ready for live?

Five winning trades in a row on demo, and a feeling that you finally get it. Confidence and one good week are moods; readiness is something your journal can show.

Two kinds of check

Being ready for live trading has two parts, and you need both.

Your process. These come straight from your trading journal and the 30-trade challenge:

At least 30 demo trades logged under your written rules.
90% or more of them taken exactly as planned: entry, stop, size and exit.
Expectancy of zero or above over your last 30 trades, after spread and commission.
Your largest drawdown on demo within 10%.
Your daily loss limit kept every day.
Your strategy written on one page, as in your trading strategy.

Your money. Two checks that override everything else:

The money is risk capital: you could lose all of it without missing a bill, a debt payment or touching your savings.
You keep emergency savings in a separate account you never trade from.

If either money check fails, the answer is no, however good the demo record looks. Money you cannot afford to lose changes how you trade: you hold losers longer and break rules to win it back.

What “ready” does not mean

Backtest log

Trades

Win rate

Avg win

Avg loss

Expectancy (R/trade)

Total R

Longest losing streak

Max drawdown (R)

Plausible range of the true expectancy

Tap Load example for 20 simulated trades, or enter your own demo results in R. The bar under the chart is the range the true expectancy could plausibly sit in.

Passing the check means your process works and your money is safe to put at risk. It does not mean you will make money. Thirty trades is a floor, not proof.

In the example above, 20 trades average +0.23R, yet the plausible range of the true result runs from about −0.33R to +0.8R. The rules could still lose on average. Even 30 trades at +0.33R leave a range of roughly −0.1R to +0.8R when you run them through the same log.

So go live at a fraction of your demo risk and treat the first live months as a forward test, not a payday. Trading with leverage can lose you money quickly, and a good demo record does not change that.

Pick the broker before you deposit

Supervised by a serious regulator
Client money segregated
Negative balance protection
Compensation scheme

Region
Retail leverage cap
Compensation if the broker fails
Where to complain

Tap each regulator to see which layers of protection apply. Typical rules at the time of writing; confirm on the regulator’s own website before you open an account.

Start with regulation: a broker supervised by a serious regulator, with segregated client money and negative balance protection. Find the licence number on the broker’s site and confirm it on the regulator’s own register; the lesson on why regulation matters shows how. Our broker reviews list each firm’s licences, but the register has the final word.

Then deposit only a first tranche, not all your risk capital. It limits the damage if live trading goes badly or the broker is slow to pay out. Make a small withdrawal early to test the process; the lesson on deposits and withdrawals covers the fees. Add the rest only when your written plan says so.

Example: Sam after six weeks of demo

Trades: 34 demo trades logged. Check 1 passes (30 or more).
Adherence: 31 of 34 followed every rule. 31 ÷ 34 = 91%. Check 2 passes (90% or more).
Last 30 trades: 13 wins at +2R, 16 losses at −1R and 1 break-even. 13 × 2R − 16 × 1R + 0 = +10R, and 10R ÷ 30 = +0.33R per trade before costs.
Costs: spread and commission average 0.05R per trade. +0.33R − 0.05R = +0.28R. Check 3 passes (zero or above).
Largest demo drawdown 6%, daily loss limit kept every day, strategy written on one page. Checks 4, 5 and 6 pass.
Money: $2,000 of emergency savings in a separate account and $3,000 of risk capital. Checks 7 and 8 pass: 8 of 8.
Sam deposits a first tranche of $1,500 and keeps the other $1,500 in the bank. First live risk: 0.25% of the $1,500 in the account = $3.75 per trade.
Size: the smallest trade, 0.01 lots on EUR/USD, is worth $0.10 per pip. $3.75 ÷ $0.10 = 37.5, so 0.01 lots fits any stop up to 37 pips. A setup that needs a wider stop waits.

Passing 8 of 8 tells Sam to start small. It says nothing about what the first live month will return.

Try it

Ready for real money?

Answer honestly from your demo records. Nothing leaves this browser.

Your process

1Demo trades logged under your written rules

trades

Keep demo trading until you have at least 30 logged trades; fewer than that says very little about your process.

2Rule adherence over those trades

Go through the trades where you broke a rule, find what triggered it, and aim for 9 in 10 trades taken exactly as planned.

3Expectancy over your last 30 trades, after costs

R per trade

Below zero after spread and commission, the rules lose on average as you trade them: review the strategy and your journal before adding money.

4Largest drawdown on demo

Cut your risk per trade (for example to 0.5%) until a normal losing run stays within 10% of the account.

5Kept your daily loss limit every single day

Set a daily loss limit and stop for the day when you hit it; practise this on demo until it happens without a debate.

6Your strategy is written down on one page

Write the setup, trigger, stop, exit and limits on one page: build your strategy.

Your money

7This money is risk capital: losing all of it would not affect your bills, debts or savings

Only trade money you could lose in full without missing a bill, a debt payment or touching your savings.

8You keep emergency savings in a separate account

Build an emergency fund first, in an account you never trade from or move into your trading account.

Answer from your own demo records. Your answers are saved in this browser only.

Notice how the defaults score 6 of 8, “Almost”: 85% adherence and an unwritten strategy are enough to hold you back. Switch either money question to No and the verdict becomes “Not with this money”, whatever the other six say. Now enter your own numbers from the journal review.

Quick check

Question 1 of 5
You have 40 demo trades, 95% adherence and +0.2R expectancy after costs. The money you plan to use is your rent buffer. What does the readiness check say?
Question 2 of 5
Your last 30 trades average +0.33R before costs, and spread and commission cost 0.05R per trade. What is your expectancy after costs?
Question 3 of 5
You pass all 8 checks. What does that tell you?
Question 4 of 5
Your live risk is $3.75 per trade and you trade EUR/USD at 0.01 lots ($0.10 a pip). The chart puts the stop 45 pips away. What do you do?
Question 5 of 5
Before your first deposit, what confirms that a broker is regulated?

Go deeper: How to Choose a Forex Broker: The 10-Point Checklist · Forex Broker Regulation: FCA, ASIC, CySEC, NFA and Offshore · How Much Money Do You Need to Start Trading Forex?