What Is Paper Trading?
Paper trading means buying and selling stocks with pretend money. Everything else is real — the prices, the charts, and the market data. Only the money is fake.
It's like a flight simulator for pilots. You get all the experience of real trading without the risk of losing actual money. Professional traders use paper trading to test new ideas before putting real cash on the line.
Types of Orders
When you buy or sell a stock, you pick an order type. Here are the three most important ones:
- •Market Order: Buys or sells right now at the current price. Fast, but you don't control the exact price.
- •Limit Order: Only buys or sells at the price you set (or better). You control the price, but it might not happen if the stock never reaches your target.
- •Stop Loss: Automatically sells if the stock drops to a price you set. This protects you from big losses. Always use one.
Step by Step: Your First Trade
Go to the Trade page. Search for a stock you've researched. Check its TrustScore to make sure it matches your idea. Then choose your order type, enter how many shares you want, and set a stop loss just in case.
Start small — even with fake money. Try putting just 5-10% of your virtual portfolio in one trade. This builds the habit of not betting everything on one stock.
Learn from Every Trade
After you trade, watch what happens. Did the stock go up or down? Did it do what you expected? If not, try to figure out why.
This is called the decision loop: Look at the data, figure out what it means, test your idea, then think about what happened. Each trade teaches you something — even the ones that lose money.