(For traders using Adobe Reader 8.0 or higher) $5.95/PDF download 22 pages. CLICK HERE for my Feb 2010 simulated futures account daily statements. This includes p.3 of my diary entries. I reach $5,965,734.

Learn from what I do wrong and from what I do right (get inside my mind):
I use my simulated futures account (which I opened on June 10, 2008 with $50,000) as a training tool and trade it alongside my real accounts. I keep my real accounts private. I make my simulated account public and show my daily simulated statements as a way for you, the reader, to better appreciate each day’s action. The trades I make in my simulated account are not necessarily the same trades I make in my real accounts.

My simulated futures account daily statement is regularly included on page 3 of my daily diary entries. See how much my simulated futures account is worth on a daily basis. Read what I was thinking as I entered and exited each trade.

Simulation is preparation (train harder, trade better):
If you are new to trading and want to explore how trading feels, I recommend opening a simulated trading account. One alternative is to open a single account. Another alternative is to open two (or more) accounts. Use one account to test one trading approach and the second account to test another trading approach. If you are an active trader, I still recommend a simulated account. Trade the simulated account alongside your real account(s). You may be surprised by how mentally reinforcing the experience can be. Your simulated account can help you keep from becoming bored during a trading day, a real problem for independent electronic traders. You may also develop an alter ego through your simulated account. This alter ego may become a de facto trading partner with whom you compete and who encourages you to improve. Some people say using a simulated account is useless at best or damaging at worst because simulation is not real. I say preparation is preparation, whether you are studying my simulated trades or making simulated trades of your own. Tell a professional athlete that training is bad. See what reaction you get.

If you are a bad trader, why aren’t you a good trader? If you are a good trader, why aren’t you a better trader? If you are a better trader, why stop there? Change your mind about simulated trading as a training tool and you will likely change your skill level as a trader.