The first job on a demo account is operational: register through the provider, select the correct server, log in and check the account settings. This guide follows those steps and the first terminal checks. Once access works, move to a demo practice plan and journal that records intended trades, execution and results.

Step 1: pick a provider

Open the demo with the same broker you intend to trade with using real money later. Spreads, available instruments and the way the platform behaves all differ between firms, so a result produced on a demo at one broker says very little about the conditions at another.

For each candidate provider, check demo access and live-account conditions with the entity that would serve your residence:

Demo comparison · terms to confirm with each entity
XTBConfirm the contracted entity, regulator, current live funding requirement and demo expiry or renewal rules.
IC MarketsConfirm the contracted entity, regulator, current live funding requirement and demo expiry or renewal rules.
PepperstoneConfirm the contracted entity, regulator, current live funding requirement and demo expiry or renewal rules.
OANDAConfirm the contracted entity, regulator, current live funding requirement and demo expiry or renewal rules.

Before filling in the form, verify the provider’s current demo terms, the contracted entity and the authentic web address. Check the relevant regulator’s register through an independently obtained route. This check can reduce the risk of using a clone website, but a timed search alone cannot guarantee that a firm is genuine. Read the guide to recognising a scam broker.

Step 2: fill in the demo form

Use the provider’s confirmed site and select the demo route. Registration forms differ, and a profile may also connect to a live-account application. Read what each requested field is used for; the following list is a set of checks, not a universal form.

  • Name — enter the information requested by the official form. A name is not the address used to deliver login details.
  • Email address — ideally a separate one used only for matters relating to your trading account.
  • Phone — check whether it is required and how contact consent is handled; it is not always an optional field.
  • Virtual amount — use a scale appropriate to the exercise if it is editable. If it is fixed, record planned loss as both an amount and a percentage of the virtual capital.
  • Demo leverage - match the intended live account. A 1:30 major-pair limit is the ordinary retail CFD example under the European intervention framework, not a worldwide setting. Do not choose 1:500 merely to make simulated returns look larger.
  • Account currency - choose a currency supported by the intended live account. USD, EUR or PLN are examples; availability depends on the entity and account.
  • Platform — MetaTrader 5, or cTrader if the broker offers it.

Virtual capital and position size. Use the same contract assumptions when comparing account scales. For example, assume EUR/USD has USD 10 per pip for one standard lot. A 0.01-lot position then has USD 0.10 per pip, so a 25-pip adverse move is USD 2.50 before other costs: 0.25% of USD 1,000 or 0.5% of USD 500. These are hypothetical inputs, not a deposit recommendation; check the symbol specification and do not infer live execution from a demo result.

Step 3: MT5 — download and log in

For desktop MT5, obtain the account number, password and exact server from the official opening process. The documentation distinguishes a master password that permits trading from an investor password that is read-only. Providers can deliver or recover credentials differently; do not assume every form sends two passwords by email.

  1. Account number — use the number generated for this demo.
  2. Password — verify whether it gives trading access or only a read-only view.
  3. Server — copy the exact current server from the provider, rather than a brand example in a tutorial.

Download through the official provider or metatrader5.com and follow the installation instructions for the supported operating system. Desktop and mobile menus differ; installation time is not guaranteed.

In desktop MT5, File → Open an Account offers a new demo or connection to an existing account. For an existing account, enter its number, password and correct server. Confirm the demo designation and the account state in the platform; a connection indicator alone does not prove trading permissions.

Step 4: first MT5 settings

Make the order-entry screen readable before the first exercise. The time needed depends on your device and familiarity; indicators are optional for learning order controls.

  1. Choose your instrument. Use Market Watch to display the symbol you want to practise. Read contract size, volume minimum and step, trading hours and settlement currency before sizing an order.
  2. Choose a chart period. Select a timeframe suited to the observation task and save display settings if useful. A saved chart template is not a universal default timeframe for every new chart.
  3. Keep the order exercise readable. Indicators can be added for a separate analysis task; SMA(50), SMA(200) and RSI(14) are examples, not required settings or a validated strategy.
  4. Check the server time. Compare the server’s time with local time for the same instant and confirm the broker’s daylight-saving policy. Tools → Options → Server configures the connection, not a universal time zone. Record date-specific offsets before assigning candles to sessions.
  5. Configure and test alerts. Tools → Options → Events controls sound alerts, including successful-operation events. Notifications configures mobile push messages. Test the intended channel and still confirm the final order or position state.

Cancelling a pending order does not close an open position

During practice, check two objects: existing exposure and an instruction for a possible future entry. One disappearing row does not mean the account is empty.

Cancelling a pending order does not close an open positionA fictional demo has a 0.01-lot position and an unfilled 0.02-lot pending order. Confirmed cancellation of the latter leaves the 0.01-lot position.MODEL / SPECIFIC DISTINCTIONBefore the exercisePosition: 0.01 lot.Separate pending order: 0.02 lot.Cancel the selected pending orderWe assume cancellation is confirmed.No execution occurs in the meantime.After cancellationPending order: none.Open position: still 0.01 lot.Separate end-of-exercise stepConfirm position closure and history.

Fictional demo; the position and pending order have different IDs. We assume successful cancellation before activation, with no new trades, partial fills or other positions. The volume is illustrative, not a trade proposal. The document MT5 — Basic Principles confirms that orders, deals and positions are separate objects; cancelling an unfilled pending order is not a closing deal for an existing position.

A fictional demo has a 0.01-lot position and an unfilled 0.02-lot pending order. Confirmed cancellation of the latter leaves the 0.01-lot position.

Do not mark exposure as zero based only on a Cancel confirmation. Check active positions and active orders separately, then history. If the order executed before cancellation, reconcile the resulting different state; a local click alone does not establish the outcome.

What now — an operational practice plan

Use this sequence as an operational exercise, without a required number of days:

  1. Check the environment. Confirm DEMO, the server and trading permissions. Quotes appearing on screen do not establish that a read-only login can submit orders.
  2. Practise the controls. On demo, preview a small hypothetical order using the symbol specification, confirm its result, then practise modification, position closure and separate pending-order cancellation. Set exit levels to learn the controls; no fixed reward-to-risk ratio is required for this exercise.
  3. Keep an operational record. Log the intended instrument, volume, order and exit levels, then the returned status, fill, modification and final position state. Export history before expiry or reset.
  4. Review the exercise. Reconcile active orders, positions and history. Mark errors and resets separately from the outcome; a correct click or a profitable simulation does not demonstrate live execution quality.

There is no deadline requiring a live deposit after demo practice. A simulation can be used again for platform changes and technical checks. Competence with controls, strategy evidence and willingness to bear actual losses are separate matters. Read the article on starting capital before considering real-money trading.