What does Paper mode validate?
Paper mode can surface issues in market discovery, data integrity, decisions, risk checks, logging, and simulated order records. It cannot prove sufficient order-book liquidity or that simulated prices were executable.
What changes in Live?
Live mode adds actual accounts, permissions, and capital; spread, slippage, partial fills, fees, rejected orders, latency, and recovery become financially relevant. Verify real order state against the venue.
Why not compare win rate or profit directly?
A correct direction at a different fill price can produce a different outcome. Simulated PnL and standardized historical scores are not realized currency profits. Fill rates, execution costs, and downside exposure matter too.
When should someone consider Live?
There is no universal sample-count threshold. Verify release version, market eligibility, credentials, readiness, logs, and manual stop procedures; define capital-at-risk first. Good paper results cannot guarantee live profitability.
The takeaway
Paper verifies a simulated workflow. Live exposes execution and account risk. They are related but not equivalent evidence.
For technical education only, not financial advice. Confirm exact features and requirements in the latest software release and project documentation.