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Trading academy

Short articles and videos that explain how forex and CFD trading works, from your first pip to trading central bank decisions. Free for everyone, no account needed.

Lessons by level

Start where you are. Each lesson takes under 20 minutes.

Level 1

Beginner

How prices are quoted and what a trade costs.

  1. What is a pip?Article · 6 min
  2. Lots, contract sizes and what 0.01 meansArticle · 8 min
  3. Reading a quote: bid, ask and spreadVideo · 7 min
  4. Your first order on MT5Video · 10 min
  5. Placing a stop loss and take profitArticle · 6 min

Level 2

Intermediate

Managing margin, leverage and overnight costs.

  1. Position sizing with leverageArticle · 12 min
  2. Margin level and how a margin call happensVideo · 9 min
  3. Swaps: the cost of holding overnightArticle · 7 min
  4. Using the economic calendarVideo · 11 min

Level 3

Advanced

Event risk, correlation and building a trading plan.

  1. Trading central bank decisionsVideo · 18 min
  2. Currency correlation and hidden exposureArticle · 14 min
  3. Gaps, slippage and weekend riskArticle · 10 min
  4. Writing and testing a trading planVideo · 16 min
  5. Introduction to Expert Advisors on MT5Video · 15 min

Glossary

Eight terms you will see on every trading screen.

Pip
The standard unit of price movement in forex. For most pairs it is the fourth decimal place (0.0001); for yen pairs it is the second (0.01).
Lot
The size of a trade. One standard lot in forex is 100,000 units of the base currency; 0.01 lots is a micro lot of 1,000 units.
Spread
The difference between the bid (sell) and ask (buy) price. It is the main cost of opening a trade.
Leverage
Trading a position larger than your deposit. At 1:30, $1,000 of margin controls a $30,000 position, and losses grow just as fast as gains.
Margin
The part of your balance set aside to keep a leveraged position open. It is not a fee, and it is released when you close the trade.
Margin call
A warning that your equity has fallen close to the margin needed for your open positions. If it keeps falling, positions are closed automatically.
Swap
The overnight financing charge or credit for holding a position past the daily rollover, based on the interest rate difference between two currencies.
Stop loss
An order that closes your position at a set price to limit a loss. In fast markets it can fill at a worse price than the one you set.

Upcoming webinars

Live sessions with time for questions. Recordings go to the lesson library afterwards.

Example sessions. Dates and presenters will be confirmed on the live schedule.

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