Investopedia is good practice and education, but it's still a game. Real investing puts your stake on the line, and is definitely a different situation. Not all people are capable of doing it well, regardless of their knowledge, because it takes a certain kind of wiring and nerve to do the right things at the right time. There are some brilliant men who cannot manage their own investments, so they get people like me to do it for them. Huge amount of psychology involved- yours, not other peoples. You find out if you have it by trying.

If you randomly hit buttons on the simulator and play it like another video game, that is very similar to playing roulette at the gambling house; nothing learned, all is lost.

If you learn something first and read a few books and develop a trade plan and test your plan on the simulator rigorously with good money management techniques and little risk and no use of margin, then the real market may be no surprise at all, or you may need to revise your plan.

The simulator is just a tool, most useful for learning and testing your theories. Improper use of any tool tells you nothing and could scrape your knuckles and give you a false idea of the real world.

Learn investing first. Once you become consistent in a year or two, you might want to read a few more books and then try trading when you have something specific to apply. Without a plan, you got nothin'. Without knowledge, this is not the way to go. You do not want to simply "try" trading and learn by trial and error; like with ignorance, what could possibly go wrong?

It is a completely different situation when real money is involved and then the risk factor comes into the mind of an investor. So always start investing with a small amount.

Emotions of fear and greed come into play when you are using real money. Picking a good stock is only 50% of making money in the market, the other 50% is controlling emotions.

You act completely differently when there is real money is on the line.

How likely are you to be successful in the real stock market? Meaning trading stocks and stock options. What are things to look out for once you hit the real market that wasn't on investopedia?