Why Paper First

Most new traders start with real money and a vague plan. They learn the platform, the market and their own nerves all at once, while paying for every mistake. Most of them lose money, and many never find out whether the problem was the strategy or the execution.

The Paper Route flips that. You trade on a real chart with simulated money, by written rules, for 30 sessions. At the end you have evidence, not a feeling.

What paper trading teaches you

• The platform. Order tickets, stops, brackets. You don't want to learn these in a fast market.
• Your setup. How often it appears, how it behaves, and whether it has an edge over many trades.
• Your discipline. Whether you can follow your own rules day after day. Most people can't at first, and paper is the cheap place to find out.

What it can't teach you

• Real fills. A simulator fills you at prices you might not get in a fast market. Expect real results to be a bit worse.
• Real fear. Losing pretend money doesn't hurt the same way. Paper builds the process; it can't fully prepare your nerves.

The one rule of the route

Treat it like real money. Same size you'd really trade, same rules, every trade logged, no reset button after a bad day. If you'd have lost it for real, it stays lost on paper. Break this rule and the next 30 sessions tell you nothing.

What you'll have on day 30

• A charting setup you know inside out
• A one-page trading plan
• A log of 30 sessions in points
• Your real expectancy and how often you followed your plan

Your task

Decide which 30 sessions you'll trade on paper and put the start date in your calendar. Then go to lesson 2.