So you have some money to put into a broker's account and you are ready to trade. But you know you need some practice. You've heard about "paper trading" and some traders have said it is not beneficial while others say it is very useful to paper trade.
What is the truth?
The truth is you probably aren't a "natural born" stock trader with an innate ability to succeed in trading without practice. Fact is, even those who have talents for trading also go through a learning curve.
Stock trading is like learning a musical instrument.
Read that again if you have to. Everything that is required to be a successful musician will be required of you to be successful stock trader.
* Dedication
* Patience
* Practice (successful musicians have thousands of hours of practice and playing under their belt.)
* Education (just like a musician should learn musical theory, so a stock trader should learn Dow Theory, charting principles, economic cyles, etc)
Source: http://www.paper-trading.com/index.php