How many here started off paper or testnet trading?

[gentlemand]

We see lots of people here asking questions about getting started trading yet hardly ever is it suggested that people kick off with some paper trading or using some of the testnet trading sites like this - https://testnet.bitmex.com   https://coinmarketgame.com

So has anyone taken the time to use these resources to get a feel for their skills or has everyone plunged straight in with real money? If you didn't, do you think you could've benefited from some practice trading first?

[DJohnson]

Testnet trading isn't very useful for tracking trades on shorter time frames.  There simply isn't much volume, and since the coins are easy to obtain people do not treat them with respect and will clear out large sections of the order book just for fun causing gigantic wicks.

I would say you should look at running back tests against real market data to obtain a better picture of performance on a strategy.  The testnet is great for developers to test functionality against though.

[Dart18]

Crap. I did not know there was something like that. Risked it all with real money from the start. 

Anyways, I did start with commodity trading but there is really a big difference with crypto. It is hard to predict and is not news dependent.
The market of crypto is so broad that it is sometimes a mess.

Thanks for the link. I still want to try this and could share it to some who are looking to start trading.

[gentlemand]

Testnet trading isn't very useful for tracking trades on shorter time frames.  There simply isn't much volume, and since the coins are easy to obtain people do not treat them with respect and will clear out large sections of the order book just for fun causing gigantic wicks.

I would say you should look at running back tests against real market data to obtain a better picture of performance on a strategy.  The testnet is great for developers to test functionality against though.

I must say I find the concept of the Bitmex test site pretty weird. Why it doesn't mirror the site's real trading I have no idea.

The other sites usually do follow real coins with no real money on the line. I can't remember which one, but one of them just mirrors all of Poloniex so you get all the corresponding movements to ruin yourself in safety.

[ShadowBits]

We see lots of people here asking questions about getting started trading yet hardly ever is it suggested that people kick off with some paper trading or using some of the testnet trading sites like this - https://testnet.bitmex.com   https://coinmarketgame.com

So has anyone taken the time to use these resources to get a feel for their skills or has everyone plunged straight in with real money? If you didn't, do you think you could've benefited from some practice trading first?

I never had anything in practice trading. I just do the real one since I could really make it better because if I don't then I would lose a lot of money.

[harizen]

We see lots of people here asking questions about getting started trading yet hardly ever is it suggested that people kick off with some paper trading or using some of the testnet trading sites like this - https://testnet.bitmex.com   https://coinmarketgame.com

So has anyone taken the time to use these resources to get a feel for their skills or has everyone plunged straight in with real money? If you didn't, do you think you could've benefited from some practice trading first?

As for me, in terms of crypto trading, only basic information is enough then people can start. That kind of testnet is really useful and good reference but in the past, there are only few resources about it so self study is the key. Im also not a fan of training with demo money as you can't feel the pressure of it. With real money staked at first try, you are bound to make it right no matter what.  It's way better for me that way as honestly people don't need too much technical knowledge and proper chart reading to deal with crypto trades compare to stocks.

Well it's really depend on a people. There are lots of professional traders today that didn't undergo such testnet. Advanced technical knowledge can be learned on the way as long as trading activity is continous and regular.

[atrocityx]

I started with paper trading.. I didn't have a lot of time to figure it out so I would do sometimes as many as 100 paper trades per day, to really accelerate the environmentals of the market.. and how things correlated together.  It really helped a lot.  Don't overcomplicate trading with 12 oscillators and indicators..trading is mostly a feel of whats going to happen and not buying in at the wrong place, along with not buying all in at one price and taking profits without becoming too greedy. 

[leonix007]

Testnet trading isn't very useful for tracking trades on shorter time frames.  There simply isn't much volume, and since the coins are easy to obtain people do not treat them with respect and will clear out large sections of the order book just for fun causing gigantic wicks.

I would say you should look at running back tests against real market data to obtain a better picture of performance on a strategy.  The testnet is great for developers to test functionality against though.

I must say I find the concept of the Bitmex test site pretty weird. Why it doesn't mirror the site's real trading I have no idea.

The other sites usually do follow real coins with no real money on the line. I can't remember which one, but one of them just mirrors all of Poloniex so you get all the corresponding movements to ruin yourself in safety.

It might be design in users side

solely purpose on its trading features look and feel

If its mirrored in actual price the newb users might get an early disappointments 

Honestly, started in normal trading before jumping unto margin ones

I have to use testnet to simulate trading features in bitmex as it really has a big contribution when engaging with them in real trades