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Investing and trading from zero

How markets work, the difference between investing and trading, how to read a chart, and a position calculator before the first trade. Nothing here is a promise of profit.

Where to start, in order

Seven steps from “what is trading” to a demo account. Tick what you have read; the ticks stay in this browser only, no account.

0 of 7 read

  1. What is forex trading and how does it work

    Trading currencies in pairs, who is on the other side, and how that differs from investing.

    5 minGuide · checkNext

  2. Forex trading for beginners: a study order from zero

    What to learn first, what to leave for later, and why a course is not a shortcut.

    4 minGuide · checkNext

  3. Candlestick patterns: single candles and what they show

    How one candle is drawn, then doji, hammer, spinning top and the rising and falling pair.

    5 minGuide · diagram · checkNext

  4. Lot size explained: from micro lots to standard lots

    What a lot is, why size matters more than direction, and how size follows the stop.

    4 minGuide · checkNext

  5. Risk management in trading: size, stop and the losing streak

    Risk a small share per trade, set the stop first, and plan for a run of losses.

    4 minGuide · checkNext

  6. How gold is quoted and traded as a CFD

    What moves gold, how its price is quoted, and what trading it as a contract means.

    4 minGuide · checkNext

  7. Demo account: practise without real money

    Virtual money, real prices: what you can and cannot learn there.

    5 minGuide · checkNext

Saved on this device. Clearing the browser’s data clears the ticks.

Position size calculator

Balance, the share of it you accept to lose on one trade, and the distance to your stop: the lot size that keeps the loss to that share.

Inputs

What the trading account holds now

USD

Share of the balance you accept to lose if the stop is hit

% of balance

From your entry to your stop loss, in pips

pips

Money value of one pip on one standard lot; the pip calculator shows how to get it

USD

Trade this size

ExampleYour numbersNot calculated

0.08lots

Worked out when the page was built, with example numbers. Change any field and the browser recalculates.Recalculated in this browser with your numbers. Nothing is saved or sent.Fix the marked field; the answer appears then.

Money at risk
20.00USD
One pip at this size
0.80USD
Loss if the stop is hit, at the rounded size
20.00USD
That loss as a share of the balance
1.00%

How it is calculated

Lots = money at risk ÷ (stop in pips × value of one pip on one lot). The result is rounded down to a hundredth of a lot, so the loss never goes past the share you set.

2,000.00 × 1.0% = 20.00 USD at risk20.00 ÷ (25 × 10.00) = 0.080 → 0.08 lots

Worked cases, no calculator needed
Three worked cases
InputsResult
Balance 2,000 · Risk 1.0% · Stop 25 · Pip value 10.000.08 lots
Balance 1,000 · Risk 2.0% · Stop 30 · Pip value 10.000.06 lots
Balance 5,000 · Risk 0.5% · Stop 40 · Pip value 10.000.06 lots

What to do next

Set the stop in the platform first, then send the order at exactly this size.

If you would move the stop to make the size bigger, the stop is in the wrong place. Size follows the stop, never the other way round.

More calculators

Platform explainers and glossary