Connect Paper Trading and Place Your First Order

Now you'll connect the simulator in TradingView (affiliate link) and learn the order ticket before it matters.

Connect paper trading

1. On your chart, click Trade at the top right.
2. In the list of brokers, pick Paper Trading (TradingView's own brokerage simulator).
3. Click Connect. An order ticket opens on the right, and a Paper Trading panel appears at the bottom of the chart.

Make the account realistic

The simulator starts with a large default balance. That's the first trap: a pretend $100,000 makes oversized trades feel normal.

1. In the Paper Trading panel at the bottom, open the account manager.
2. Open the account settings and choose Reset account.
3. Set the balance to what you'd really trade with, then reset. (Resetting deletes history, so do this now, not later.)
4. In the same settings, set a commission close to what your broker would charge you, so your results include costs.

Place your first bracket order

1. In the order ticket, set the quantity to 1 contract of MNQ1!, or for stocks, the number of shares you would really buy.
2. Choose a limit order (fills at your price or better) or a market order (fills now). See order types explained.
3. Tick Stop loss and Take profit and set both. This is a bracket: your stop exists from the moment you're in.
4. Place it. Watch it fill, then watch one exit cancel the other when it closes.

Know the simulator's quirks

• Buys fill at the ask and sells at the bid, with no slippage. Real fills in fast markets are worse.
• New orders on the same symbol merge into one position.
• Trades placed during Bar Replay aren't saved to your paper account.

Your task

Reset to a realistic balance, set a commission, and place three practice bracket orders. Don't judge the results yet; you're learning the ticket. Then go to lesson 9.