Mistake one: funding the live account before finishing the demo
The most common first mistake is impatience with the demo account. A new user tries the Kestrel Wertha demo for a day or two, finds it straightforward, and funds the live account before they have encountered the situations where things go wrong — a fast market move, a margin call near-miss, a stop-loss that did not execute where expected. The demo account's purpose is not to confirm you can place a trade; it is to expose you to adverse scenarios before real money is involved. A useful benchmark is to experience at least one losing position on the demo account before switching to live trading. The psychological experience of a loss, even a simulated one, is genuinely instructive.
Mistake two: trading instruments you do not understand
The Kestrel Wertha platform offers access to multiple instrument categories. The breadth of choice is a feature for experienced traders and a risk for newcomers who treat novelty as a strategy. A first-time trader who opens positions in an unfamiliar instrument because it appears to be moving quickly is making a decision based on momentum rather than understanding. Before placing any trade, be able to answer three questions clearly: what does this instrument track, what are the main factors that move its price, and what is the maximum loss I can sustain on this position without it affecting my other financial commitments.
Mistake three: skipping the risk-management settings
Many new users on the Kestrel Wertha platform place their first trade without setting a stop-loss — either because they expect the trade to work quickly or because they are uncertain how to place one. This is one of the costlier oversights available to a new trader. A position without a stop-loss has an undefined loss boundary: the market can move against you indefinitely while you are asleep, at work, or simply not watching the screen. Setting a stop-loss before you are in the trade — not after you see a loss developing — is a discipline that experienced traders maintain as an absolute rule. Start it as a rule from your very first position.
Mistake four: treating account equity as spending money
A subtler mistake than it appears: many new traders deposit an amount they consider 'affordable to lose' and then trade it as though the loss is already accepted. This framing removes the psychological brake that risk-awareness provides. Capital in a trading account is still your money until a trade closes against you — treating it as already spent makes you less likely to manage positions carefully and more likely to let a losing position run in the hope it recovers. Whatever amount you deposit into a Kestrel Wertha account or any other, maintain the mental clarity that it is real money requiring active management, not a sunk cost to be speculated away.