look earlier in the thread- I asked the same of Minoil.
in summary, there’s no ‘rules’ like STT for example. whether you segregate $5k or paper trade is allowed too i think, although the latter obviously won’t give a realistic result.
When I brought my holding of EYM for example I actually brought $10k, but for my 5k p&l i simply split it out on paper and charged myelf full brokerage not 50%...
also my cash held is merged with main holdings so have to record on seperate spreadsheet.
the only rule is just be honest, don’t lie about entry/exits, don’t conveniently say one of your other stocks that went up was your 5k stock, try and be public about the trades you make and why, to do otherwise is just to cheat yourself and others, it’s not a stock measuring competition at the end of the day, but a way for either new trades to observe and learn how to trade small accounts, as well as a way for experienced traders to try new strategies
(I hope I got that right Minoil and am not misrepresenting your endeavours!)
