Best Forex Simulator Software
Forex simulator is trading software that simulates market
conditions, creating an impression of a live trading session. The usual aspects
of trading, such as opening, modifying, and closing orders, remain the same.
The key features of Forex simulator are as follows:
1. Live simulation and market updates;
2. Risk-free demo-account trading;
3. Inclusion of all trading features and functions;
4. The ability to test any strategy.
While a degree and strong analytical skills can certainly
help you succeed in trading, they will do little good without live practice.
Some believe mastery requires 10,000 hours of practice.
Generating success in trading will likely necessitate similar diligence.
At any rate, you don't want to lose money while getting the
practice you need. Using Forex simulation software on a demo account lets you
learn the ropes and avoid putting your hard-earned money at risk.
How to Know It's the Best Forex Simulator Software for 2018
There are two types of trading simulation software.
The first one uses a simple algorithm to mimic the broader
market. The second one is a sophisticated trading platform, which offers a far
more realistic market experience.
While both can be useful, the latter provides much greater
value. Let's review the most important factors involved in selecting the right
trading software.
Ensure a Real Market Environment
Having a live pricing feed is crucial to Forex trading
simulation software. This feature will provide you with real-time price data.
Without this information, you will not be able to evaluate your trades
effectively.
A Flexible Deposit Amount
When you're ready to begin practising with a demo account,
it's important to use a paper amount close to the sum you expect to use for
live trading.
Practising trading with a demo account will:
grant you the opportunity to learn more about the software
platform;
give you a chance to develop and test strategies.
Remember that any strategy you use should incorporate
stop-losses, take-profits, and margin levels.
Choose an Advanced Trading Platform
When you start trading with a demo account, it's important
to work with a Forex simulator software that is sufficiently advanced.
If you just pick the most user-friendly platform, you may
need to upgrade later due to missing features. Starting out with an advanced
platform like MetaTrader 4 Supreme Edition may save you time in the long run.
Also, please keep in mind that if you don't want to day-trade, an advanced
platform is not as vital. Fortunately, Admiral Markets has developed a special
software in cooperation with FXblue that is a part of MT4SE.
Whether you want a minimalist software or a powerful tool,
your trading simulator allows you to manually test your trading strategies
based on historical data and analyse the results.
Download MT4 Supreme Edition - Forex trading platform
One additional way to find a good Forex or a CFD trading
simulator is to search for a flexible backtesting feature.
The MT4SE platform offers the best day trading simulator
which allows you to backtest manual strategies with historical data. This
trading simulator can test various strategies under different time frames.
Find popular strategies and try them out. You never know how
effective these strategies will be until you try them.
Source: Admiral Markets Strategy Tester, EUR/USD, M5,
January 2016
Step-by-Step Guide to Use Forex Strategy Tester and
Daytrading Simulator
We will start with the strategy tester first. This is our
best CFD simulator for simulated CFD trading.
Once you've installed the MT4SE platform, you can start by
pressing Ctrl+R or clicking the button as shown in the example below. You need
to select the preferred time frame window and make sure that you have enough
historical data loaded up. It is recommended to properly adjust your account
balance to match your live account.
Once completed, click the Start button. We will use the
Master Candle template and will simulate approximately last six months of
trading (01.01.2017-05.07.2017).
Forex Trading Tester
Source: Admiral Markets H4 MT4 SE, USD/JPY H4, July 6, 17:35
Platform Time
To ensure maximum compromise between speed and quality,
apply these settings:
Model: Open prices or Every tick;
Visual mode: Checked (to ensure visual backtesting data);
Period: Select a period that matches your trading strategy;
Spread: Current.
Testing tips:
The slider just after the visual mode option allows you to
speed up or slow down the visual backtesting process.
If you use the Every tick model to test your Forex strategy,
bear in mind that it might take a really long time to finish backtesting.
Every tick should be the most accurate, but also the slowest
one.
Backtest and backtest again – until you finally find
profitable settings.
Source: Admiral Markets H4 MT4 SE, USD/JPY H4, July 6, 18:00
Platform Time
Once finished with a visual backtest, click the Results or
Report tab and see the result. In the example below, we can see that the Master
Candle strategy has produced approximately 6.72% ROI (Return On Investment)
during the tested period. Still much better than the banks give you, right?
strategy tester
Source: Admiral Markets Strategy Tester, MT4SE
After you finish with testing, you will be able to publish
and print the result.
strategy tester report
Source: Admiral Markets Strategy Tester (Personal), MT4SE
Testing Manual Strategies Using Admiral Markets Day Trading
Simulator
Day trading simulation lets you place market and pending
orders, set trailing stops, alter the s/l and t/p on orders by clicking on the
chart, save complex order definitions as templates, quickly close all open
orders, and access many more features that are not available as standard in
MetaTrader 4.
One of the best things you can do with our strategy tester
is use historical data to test manual trading strategies. Here's how you can do
it:
Open the strategy tester by clicking on the icon or pressing
Ctrl+R. Choose the expert advisor titled Admiral – Trading Simulator.ex4, then
set your trading instrument and a time frame.
If you do not know which testing model to use specifically,
choose Open Prices only. Use other settings only if you have experience.
Next, choose your preferred time window. You need to make
sure that enough historical data exists for this period. Additionally, enable
visual mode.
To make the simulation more authentic, adjust the initial
account balance in the EA options to match your live account. You can do it by
clicking Expert Properties in the MT4 simulator window, then by clicking on the
Testing tab.
Trading simulator expert properties
To ensure maximum compromise between speed and quality,
apply these settings:
Model: Open prices;
Visual mode: Checked (to ensure visual backtesting data);
Period: Select a period that matches your trading strategy;
Spread: Current.
Source: Admiral Markets Trading Simulator MT4, USD/JPY, 4h
Chart, 01.01.2017-05.07.2017
You can apply different templates, add your indicators,
trade normally, and see if your strategy worked or not. The major advantage of
daytrading simulation is the ability to backtest your strategy through
different time periods. In the example below, you can see the example of
backtesting using a custom template. The end result was +1.748 EUR of profit.
daytrading simulation
Source: Admiral Markets trading simulator MT4, USD/JPY 4h
chart 01.01.2017-05.07.2017
The daytrading simulator will also let you thoroughly
analyse your trading activity if you press the analyse button on the mini chart
window.
Source: Admiral Markets Trading Simulator MT4, Custom
Strategy
The Strategy Tester and Day Simulator Trading Tips
Smart Lines
The Smart Lines use line objects drawn on an MT4 chart as
the stop-loss or take-profit for positions. They provide three main features:
Trend-line stop-loss (or take-profit);
Multiple partial stops at different prices (i.e., partial
closes at different price levels);
Time-based stops (e.g., close all positions at midnight).
In order to create a smart line, just do the following:
Draw a horizontal line, a vertical line, or a trend-line on
the chart;
Hold down the Alt key while clicking on the line.
A window such as the following will then pop up, letting you
choose what action the line should take. Watch the example below.
Source: Admiral Markets Trading Simulator MT4, USD/JPY, 4h
Chart, 01.01.2017-05.07.2017
Speed Trading Tip
The main way of controlling the speed of the Simulator is to
use the slider next to the Visual Mode box, which has values from 1 to 32.
The effect of the slider depends on:
How powerful your computer is;
How many indicators you add to the simulator;
How many ticks there are in each simulated bar.
As a general rule:
Value 32 on the slider will be extremely fast.
Values 28 to 31 will be between 10 and 20 times faster than
in real life (e.g., an M15 bar is simulated in 1 minute).
Values 20 to 27 will be between 2 and 5 times faster than in
real life.
Values below 10 will be at approximately real-life speed
(i.e., each M15 bar takes 15 minutes).
You can also experiment with the slider to find the best
combination for your computer and how quickly you want the simulation to run.
Additionally, you can also control the speed of the simulation further using
the EA's SpeedFactor property. You set this by clicking on the Expert
properties button in the strategy tester and then altering the Value property
on the Inputs tab.
Admiral Trading Simulator Expert properties Inputs tab
Source: Admiral Markets Trading Simulator MT4
The SpeedFactor parameter slows down the simulation. The
larger the value, the slower the simulation. For example, you can create a
simulation speed between values 31 and 32 on the MT4 slider by setting the
slider to 32 and then adjusting SpeedFactor to a non-zero value.
The Key to Successful Paper Trading
After choosing the best Forex simulator software, you should
determine what goals you want to reach before moving on to a live account.
Whatever you do, remember not to overtrade paper.
Many traders are having a hard time figuring out when to
transition from using a demo account to a live account.
Basically, the choice is yours. Simply create your goal for
transition. For example, monthly returns of at least 3%, or a profit of $1,000
for three straight months without losses.
Regardless of whether you are using Forex/CFD simulation
software or a live account, don't be afraid of failing. Traders often produce
losses, especially towards the beginning of their trading careers.
There are many cases of traders who failed at some point but
ended up producing significant gains in some time.
For example, Jesse Livermore became famous making a fortune
by shorting the stock market in 1929. However, he experienced both great
success and humiliating failure during his ventures. Livermore filed for
bankruptcy three times, but also became a Wall Street legend by amassing a $100
million fortune through speculative trades.
Not every trader's story is as dramatic and exciting as
Livermore's. If you fear failure, you can gain experience and confidence by
using risk-free Forex trading simulation software.
Before trading FX professionally, it is crucial to gather
experience – preferably, without losing money in the process.
You can do this by educating yourself on Forex trading and
practising what you've learned by demo-trading. It is vital to evaluate each
trade's success and, finally, repeat the process over and over again until
perfection.
source: admiralmarkets.com
