Learn Trading from Start to Finish.

Impulse & Correction

Every market is always in one of two states. In an impulse phase, price moves up or down with momentum. In a corrective phase, price moves sideways. Before anything else, ask yourself: which phase is the market in right now?

The Candle: Open & Close

Every candle records where price opened and where it closed over its timeframe. If a candle closes above its open, it is bullish; if it closes below its open, it is bearish.

Timeframes: 15 Minutes, 30 Minutes and 1 Hour

Larger candles are built from smaller ones. A 30-minute candle is made up of two 15-minute candles. A 1-hour candle is made up of two 30-minute candles, and so on.

The higher the timeframe, the stronger the confirmation that price will move in a particular direction.

A candle is only confirmed once it closes. Entering just before a new hourly candle opens is not safe, because the next candle can change the picture.

Trading Styles: Scalping and Swing Trading

Scalping means taking quick, short-term trades in rapid succession. Swing trading means holding trades for a longer period. The markets are the same, but the pace and the mindset are very different.

What Is a Pip?

A pip is the amount of movement of price going up or down.

The amount of distance price travels up or down adds up to the amount of pips the market has moved.

What Is a Lot Size?

Lot size is the standardised amount of currency units bought or sold in one trade. It is the basic unit of position size, much like shares in stock trading. When you open a trade, you choose a volume expressed in lots.

One standard lot equals 100,000 units of the base currency, so a standard lot of EUR/USD means 100,000 euros. Lot size sets your market exposure and determines how much each pip movement is worth in money, which makes it the main tool for managing trade risk.

Proper lot sizing is essential: poor position sizing is a leading reason why trading accounts fail. Studies indicate that most retail forex traders lose money in any given quarter, frequently because of excessive leverage. Choose lot sizes that match your account size and your risk tolerance.

Lot size and risk scale in a straight line: doubling the lot size doubles both potential gains and potential losses. Larger lots magnify profits and losses and, when leverage is used, can lead to losses greater than your original capital. Forex trading carries a significant risk of loss.

Best Times to Trade: Market Sessions

The market is open around the clock, but it is not equally active all day. The best times to trade are when the major banks are open and money is moving, not overnight.

The London session is popular because liquidity is high, euro and pound pairs (such as EUR/USD and GBP/USD) are particularly active, and early-morning volatility creates momentum for short-term trades and trend moves. The Asian session is quieter.

The London and New York overlap is the golden window, when two of the world’s largest financial centres are open at once. It offers the highest volume and the biggest price swings (the most momentum).

Chasing Losses

The urge to win back a loss straight away is one of the fastest ways to damage an account. A loss is a cost of doing business, not a debt that the next trade has to repay.

Being Disciplined

Discipline means sticking to your plan even when your emotions say otherwise: no revenge trades, no forced setups and no breaking your own rules.

A Maximum of One or Two Trades a Day

Take a maximum of one or two trades a day. Fewer, higher-quality trades keep you patient and protect you from overtrading.

Never Risk More Than 1%

Never risk more than 1% of your account on a single trade. The aim is to maximise your potential return while risking the bare minimum on each trade.

Highs & Lows (Market Structure)

An uptrend is a market that makes higher highs and higher lows. A downtrend makes lower highs and lower lows. When the market creates a higher low and then a new higher high, the trend is confirming itself.

Support & Resistance

Support is a price area where buyers have repeatedly stepped in; resistance is where sellers have. The more often price reacts to a zone, the more attention it deserves.

Supply & Demand

Demand zones are where strong buying launched a move up; supply zones are where strong selling launched a move down. Price often returns to these zones, giving you areas to watch for reactions.

Liquidity Sweeps (Grabs)

Stop orders pile up above equal highs and below equal lows. Price can sweep through those levels to trigger the stops and then reverse sharply. That sweep is a liquidity grab, and it often marks a turning point.

Order Blocks

An order block is the last opposing candle before a strong move: the last down candle before a sharp rally (a bullish order block), or the last up candle before a sharp drop (a bearish order block). It marks the area where large orders were placed.

Price often returns to that zone before continuing, which gives you an area to watch for an entry.

Trend Lines & Channels

Connect the lows in an uptrend (or the highs in a downtrend) to draw a trend line. Add a parallel line on the other side and you have an ascending or descending channel to trade within.

Continuation Flags

After a strong impulse (the pole), price often pauses in a small, tilted consolidation (the flag) before continuing in the same direction. It is a continuation pattern.

Reversal Patterns: Double Top & Double Bottom

Reversal patterns warn that a trend may be ending. A double top is two highs at about the same level, shaped like an M: price fails twice to break higher. A double bottom is the opposite, shaped like a W: two lows at about the same level.

The pattern is confirmed when price breaks the neckline, the level of the low (or high) between the two peaks. A break below the neckline of a double top suggests a move down; a break above the neckline of a double bottom suggests a move up.

Fibonacci Levels

Draw the Fibonacci retracement across an impulse move and it marks likely pullback areas, commonly 38.2%, 50% and 61.8%. Traders watch these levels for entries when price corrects.

Finding the Perfect Entry

A great entry is not guessed; it is built from what price has already shown you. Start by reading the chart to the left of your entry.

Look for a Clean Range on the Left

Make sure there is a clean range on the left of the move before you take the entry.

The Mirror Pattern

When price moves cleanly higher, buyers are firmly in control. That control never lasts forever. Once price reaches a high, sellers eventually spot an attractive opportunity to sell at elevated levels. If a rejection wick forms and the next candle starts to turn lower, that area can become resistance.

When price then begins to fall aggressively, buyers lose control and sellers take over, driving price back down in a way that often mirrors the earlier upward move. There is no guarantee that the decline will match the exact length of the prior rise.

Here is an example of the mirror pattern:

1. Price moves up cleanly.
2. Rejection wicks form, showing that buyers are losing momentum.
3. Sellers take control as price moves down cleanly, mirroring the earlier uptrend.

The 70% Rule (When to Exit)

To stay on the safe side, apply the 70% rule: once price has mirrored roughly 70% of the previous move, or momentum begins to slow in that direction, consider exiting the trade, because price can reverse at any moment.

Psychological Levels: What They Are

A psychological level is a round-number price, such as 4,000 on gold or 210.00 on GBP/JPY. Traders think in round numbers, so many place entries, targets and stop orders around them. That is why price often pauses, bounces or reverses near these levels.

Treat each level as an area to watch, not a guarantee. Price can also break straight through one.

Psychological Levels on Gold (XAU/USD)

Gold is quoted in US dollars per ounce. Traders usually watch every $100 (for example 4,000 and 4,100) as major levels and every $50 (for example 4,050) as minor levels.

Mark them on your chart, then watch what price does when it reaches each one: a bounce, a stall or a clean break. The chart is an illustration, not real price data.

Psychological Levels on GBP/JPY

GBP/JPY is quoted in yen to two decimal places, so one pip is 0.01. Whole numbers ending in .00 (for example 210.00 and 211.00) are major levels, and halves ending in .50 (for example 210.50) are minor levels.

As with gold, mark the levels first and then watch how price reacts around them. The chart is an illustration, not real price data.