Quote from: BanWork on July 19, 2012, 08:10 pmThere is a virtual trading app that uses realtime markets at http://simulator.investopedia.comI tried my hand at some fantasy trading and failed miserably. :'(So, I'm keeping my money under the mattress for now. May have another crack at it, I've got a few grand that I can't put in the bank and its pissing me off lust sitting there devaluing. ::)Further to what BanWork says - the above tool is one we were shown when I first started working in Hedge Funds.Of course it's also worth noting that the Bitcoin has its own Stock Exchange but I am deeply suspicious of the promised rates of return on offer there. Anyone trading in those kind of volumes wouldn't be able to make any money from arbitrage due to the fact that a mass sale of that number of Bitcoins would force down the value - http://www.thebitcointrader.com/2012/05/bitcoin-stock-market-miners-and-pirates.htmlThe only securities I trust are the ABS run by a very entrepreneurial Chinese man as your investment is protected by precious metals such as gold. These actually form part of the investment portfolio I offer to SR users at 6% a month (the difference being I guarantee to protect your investment unlike the "Pirates") :-)If you want to get into playing the stock market in a real way a sensible minimum investment is around GBP 2000 (USD 3000) - unfortunately brokers aren't nearly as affordable as they should be but if you play with small amounts you might be able to work up enough of a reputation to join an investment club which is a group of individuals who pool their cash to make greater gains. Usually everyone brings something to the table so what you lack in financial acumen you can make up for in doing some background research into companies e.g how long they've been in business, what's their annual turnover, have there been any shifts in high level positions of late, any large contracts (imagine for instance the amount of money someone could have made betting against the market with G4S if they'd known early on that they'd bitten off more than they could chew for their contract in providing security at the London Olympics. It doesn't take a Broker to realise what was going to happen when the shit hit that proverbial fan (See : http://www.lse.co.uk/SharePrice.asp?shareprice=GFS)If you're an absolute beginner and want to get into playing the Stock Market in a small way I can suggest the following books:Easyway Guide "The Complete Guide to Investing in the Stock Market" (Robert Fellowes)."How the Stock Market Workds : A beginner's guide to investment" (Michael Becket).The latter book is written by the Daily Telegraph (a British newspaper for right wing fascists) - and it demonstrates how to read a newspaper's financial pages which is an essential skill if you want to get into this in a real way. Remember never to invest more than you can afford to lose!All the best,V.