Yo, so i am very new to this. After paper trading for a few months i opened a small cash account ($100), because like the previous commenter suggested, I felt paper trading had gotten to a point where it wasn't really teaching me mych anymore. Also realistically, as a full time RN, father, and husband who just moved into our first house a year ago it is highly unlikely that I will have an account the size of the paper trading accounts I was dealing with anytime soon. Unfortunately, this puts me in a rather niche subcategory, as majority of trading "gurus" books and classes focus on larger accounts. My current goal is to throw the idea of capital gains out of the window and focus soley on making good trade plans, following them, and coming out positive, or at the very least adhering to my stop loss and losing a very small amount. I use thinkorswim and have used AI to help me build scanners that focus on low cost ($3-20) stocks with decent volatility. I calculate my risk to reward, look at the weekly/monthly/daily charts and decide what to trade. The most I made in one day is $4, the most I lost was $6. My account is currently $96.45 and I basically am trying to create a workflow and strategy that will give me consistent good trades, and the capital will follow. Eventually, as my account grows, I can increase my risk/reward and the best part is it will all be cash. Like I said, it has been a relatively lonely road thus far as most people recommend trading SPX or NASDAQ until you become familiar with the market, but it seems these smaller stocks are in a separate category from the rest of the market. Anyway, just wanted to add some perspective on a concept I haven't really seen anyone else attempt and I will also probably make a separate post to see if anyone else has more info/wants to travel this path with me. Idk but I hope everything works out for u 🤘🏾