Today there are so many ways you can "practice" trading I'd recommend using a stock market game before jumping in. You will make many mistakes in trading; might

Today there are so many ways you can "practice" trading I'd recommend using a stock market game before jumping in. You will make many mistakes in trading; might as well make them on a simulator. http://vse.marketwatch.com/Game/Homepage.aspx http://vse.marketwatch.com/Game/Homepage.aspx The people saying "be prepared to lose it all" are crazy. You only need to be prepared to loose it all if you're undertaking a really risky strategy. Of course this depends on your goals. If you're just picking individual stocks based on thin information with little industry knowledge and hopes to make a quick buck, then, yeah be prepared to lose it all. If you are trying to enter the market for the first time with a long-term portfolio strategy, you're doing it wrong if you must also prepare to lose it all.