What copy trading actually does to your account

Copy trading gets pitched as "mirror a pro and relax." The reality is more interesting, and you should understand it before you turn it on. When you follow a strategy on TradeByBar, you are not handing over your account. You are subscribing to its signals. When the source opens or closes a position, the engine translates that action onto your account, then runs it through your own risk gate. That last part is the part people miss. The signal is the source's idea. The size is yours. If a strategy enters with five contracts but your account ceiling is two, you get two. Your limits are the final word, always, even on a copied trade. This works the same whether you are on a live broker account or a paper account. Paper followers run through the identical logic, so what you see on paper is an honest preview of what live would have done, not a separate simplified simulation. You stay in control of the exit, too. The flatten button closes your positions immediately regardless of what the source is doing. Following a strategy is a default, not a handcuff. Copy trading is not a guarantee of the source's results. Different fills, different timing, and your own size settings all mean your outcome will differ. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss.