stock simulators

Stock simulators are definitely an easy way to tell if you're getting up there with the pros. Use stock simulators to see how you rand with the s&p500 or to see if you are making profits off of your strategies.

I whole heart-idly recommend using stock simulators before you ever invest real money into stocks. You do not want to dump a bunch of cash, just to see it plummet down a drain. Once you have seen that you are making some money, you might be ready for the real deal.  

I use a few different stock simulators on the web. You can use yahoo finance for one. Virtually place stocks into your portfolio with how many stocks you purchase, at what price, what time, etc. Then the real time keeps up with the stock to see how you are performing. just go to the site, and click "my portfolio" to begin.

another site I like to use is how the market works it is a great site for just starting out.

these are just a couple suggestions. You should run a search and find a stock simulator or virtual trader to find one you like.