What is a demo, and why should I use one to start?

A demo account refers to a fake money account in a sim environment. This is NOT a prop firm eval, even though they run in sim.

A real demo has no financial consequences associated with what happens in it. You won't need to pay for resets.

You need to use one of these when you first start learning the ATS and automation. Automation is a complex topic; you will make mistakes.

It is best to learn in an environment that is free of financial consequences for a month or two. Don't fall into the trap of thinking "well these wins could be making me money and passing accounts!" That is a causal fallacy.

Our emotions are the number one issue with trading for most people. When you trade in an environment free of financial consequences you no longer face those emotions - this is typically the cause of success in demo, and not necessarily your proficiency at the task as a whole.

In order to become truly proficient you must trade in a demo long enough to understand the rhythm and routine, then when when you switch to a prop eval you can constantly refer back to your experiences in demo when there were no emotions in order to guide you on what to do. 

If you cannot make a decision in a prop eval without feeling emotional, then you need to return to demo.

You can get a demo account from Tradovate themselves with live data for $12/month.