The trading platform for Real Time Markets is designed to help students who want to learn how to trade the stock market.

The only difference between the trading platforms used for practice trades and actual trades on Real Time Markets is the color of the screen. The practice screen is white, while the background screen is shaded yellow for real trades. This allows the user to visually ascertain whether the trade is for real dollars or practice bucks.

Otherwise the trading platforms are identical. The idea is to get a student accustomed to using the same trading platform any time they buy or sell stock or options. By using the same system, the trader doesn't need to worry about taking different steps or seeing different information when trying to enter or exit a trade. Familiarity is important when getting into and out of trades and there's no time to delay when trading under live conditions.

Traders can insert their symbols in the trading platform if buying a stock, and then ask for an options chain to get additional information. The fields are automatically populated with the proper information, which changes as the market fluctuates.

Real Time Markets comes with a real trading platform. The program offers places to double-check orders and transactions, view current and closed positions, and get a summary of the account.

And it's all done the same, whether for real money or for practice. This sort of trading platform makes things less complicated for newcomers to begin trading.