I have paper traded successfully followed up by losing my whole acct.
Did this for years & then went with a real time mock trading acct. which helped a lot.
None of this is the same as real trading though, our emotions are the killer.
Sound familiar? I got in a trade, Oh no its going against me, losing 50, its going to come back, oh no losing 100, it will turn back now as its way oversold,, I'll be ok, oh no I better get out with this 150 loss before it gets bigger. What now it turns? I would have made 250 but instead lost 150. The third time this week, they are gunning for me!

In my opinion, only a newbe would buy a trading plan without being proven with all real money trades.
Basics are basics but some things work better at various times. But even so sticking to a plan with good past results still comes down to discipline
& controling your emotions.