Intro to Trading
The complete starting curriculum for new traders - what a market actually is, how brokers and order types work, the difference between stocks, futures, options, and forex, the styles and timeframes traders choose between, and the math of position sizing that decides whether your edge survives a losing streak. Written for someone with zero prior knowledge but no patience for fluff. By the end you'll have the working mental model and vocabulary to read every other lesson on this site.
What you'll learn
- How markets actually move - supply, demand, the order book, and the spread
- Stocks, futures, options, and forex compared side by side - which to trade and why
- The four trading styles (scalp, day, swing, position) and how to pick one
- Brokers, account types, margin math, and the PDT rule explained
- Position sizing, the 1% rule, and the math of expectancy
- Risk management - the formulas every serious trader memorizes
Complete beginners building a real foundation, and self-taught traders who want to fill the gaps before going deeper.
All 9 lessons
What Is Trading?
A plain-English intro to markets, trades, and why prices move.
Getting Set Up
Brokers, account types, margin math, the post-PDT capital rules, and every order type - with the formulas, charts, and decision rules most guides skip.
Market Foundation
Why prices move, what shifts supply and demand, how the order book connects buyers and sellers, and why the spread quietly decides whether you're profitable.
Trading Styles and Timeframes
Scalping vs day trading vs swing trading vs position trading - what each really demands in time, capital, and temperament, plus the multiple timeframe analysis framework every serious trader eventually adopts.
Stocks Explained
What a stock actually is, the seven types every trader should recognize, how market capitalization tiers differ, why P/E ratio matters, how stock splits and short selling work, and why NYSE and NASDAQ are not the same marketplace.
Options Trading Explained
Calls and puts, strike prices, premiums, the Greeks (delta, gamma, theta, vega, rho), implied volatility, and the strategies that actually pay - with payoff diagrams for every position and the math pros rely on.
Futures Trading Explained
Contract specifications, tick values, margin mechanics, leverage math, expiration rollover, and the contango/backwardation patterns that define futures curves - from micro-lot contracts to full-size E-mini S&P.
Forex Trading Explained
Currency pairs, pips, lots, leverage, spreads, sessions, and carry - the full mechanics of the world's largest market, with the math retail traders routinely miss.
Risk Management Fundamentals
Position sizing, stop placement, reward-to-risk, expectancy, and the rules that keep you in the game - the math every serious trader memorizes and the psychology that makes most retail accounts die anyway.
Frequently asked
Do I need money to start learning trading?
No. The Intro to Trading curriculum is theory, market mechanics, and risk math - all consumable on paper or with a free demo account. Most traders should spend 30-60 days learning before funding a real account.
How long does the Intro to Trading track take?
About 2-3 hours of total reading across 9 lessons, plus another 10-20 hours of chart-watching and demo practice to make the concepts stick. The 'getting set up' lesson alone covers what most YouTube videos take six episodes to explain.
Should I learn stocks, futures, forex, or crypto first?
Liquid US equities (SPY, QQQ, large-caps) are the most forgiving for learning because data is clean, regulations protect you, and resources are abundant. Add other markets only after you understand position sizing.
What's the difference between trading and investing?
Investing holds for years to capture business growth and dividends. Trading holds for minutes to weeks to capture price movement. Different timeframes, different skills, different tax treatment - covered in 'What Is Trading?'