Routes through the courseThe fourteen lessons that get you from never having opened a chart to placing a sized trade on a demo account.
From zero in two weeks
Lessons on this route
14 lessons
- 1 · Lesson 1.1
What happens when you press Buy
An order leaves your platform, gets filled at a price, becomes an open position, and ends when you close it. Four steps, and every cost attaches to one of them.
- 2 · Lesson 1.2
Pairs and quotes: what 1.0850 means
A quote is the price of the first currency in the second. The number you see moves in the last decimal place, and that place has a money value.
- 3 · Lesson 1.3
What a pip is worth in money
A pip is the smallest standard price step. What it is worth depends on lot size and the pair, so the same twenty-pip move pays differently on different trades.
- 4 · Lesson 1.4
Lots: standard, mini and micro
A lot is how much of the instrument one trade controls. Standard is 100,000 units, mini is a tenth of that, micro a hundredth.
- 5 · Lesson 1.5
The three costs: spread, commission, swap
You pay the spread on entry, commission on some account types, and swap for every night a position stays open. All three are known before you trade.
- 6 · Lesson 1.7
Leverage and margin: how much of the trade is yours
Leverage sets how large a position your deposit can hold. Margin is the part of your money locked against it while the trade is open.
- 7 · Lesson 1.8
Order types: market, limit, stop
A market order takes the current price. A limit waits for a better one. A stop triggers once price reaches a worse one.
- 8 · Lesson 1.9
Stop loss and take profit
Two instructions you attach to a position: one closes it at a loss you chose in advance, the other at a profit you chose in advance.
- 9 · Lesson 1.10
MT4, MT5 and cTrader: which to pick
The three platforms differ in instruments, order handling and how they report costs. The choice is reversible; the account type behind it is less so.
- 10 · Lesson 1.12
Demo accounts: what they teach and where they lie
A demo teaches the platform and the arithmetic honestly. It cannot teach fills in a fast market, and it cannot teach how losing real money feels.
- 11 · Lesson 1.14
Opening an account and passing verification
What documents a regulated broker has to ask for, why it has to ask, and the checks that hold an application up.
- 12 · Lesson 1.15
Deposits and withdrawals with local methods
Which local payment methods reach a broker, how long each leg takes, and why a withdrawal usually has to go back the way the deposit came.
- 13 · Lesson 3.1
Risk per trade: the 1-2% rule
Deciding the money you can lose on one trade before deciding anything else. Everything downstream — size, stop, target — follows from that number.
- 14 · Lesson 3.2
Working out position size
Risk in money, divided by the stop distance in pips, divided by pip value. Three numbers you already have, in that order.
Match the route to your situation
This route is for someone who has never opened a chart. It is not for someone who already trades and wants a new strategy. The route assumes you can give two hours a day for two weeks. If you have less time, the route still works, but it will take longer. The order of the lessons matters more than the speed.
Compare two readers. Reader A jumps straight to position sizing, skips the lesson on what a pip is worth, and places a trade on a demo account. Reader B follows the route in order, starting with what happens when you press Buy. After two weeks, Reader A has a demo account with a random result and no idea why. Reader B can calculate the pip value, the lot size, and the risk per trade before pressing anything.
The route is built so that each lesson uses only what earlier lessons taught. The lesson on lots comes after the lesson on pip value, because a lot is a number of pips in money. The lesson on position size comes last, because it needs pip value, lot size, and the 1-2% rule. Skipping ahead means you meet a term you cannot yet use.
Prepare before the first lesson
Before you start, have three things ready. A notebook and a pen, because you will write down numbers and check them by hand. A calculator, or the calculator on your phone. And a quiet hour, because the first lesson asks you to follow a price on a chart and write down what changes. You do not need money yet. You do not need to open a live account.
You will also need a demo account, but not in the first week. The route places the demo account lesson after you can read a quote and calculate a pip value. If you open a demo account on day one, you will press buttons without knowing what they do. That is the mistake Reader A made. The demo account is a place to practise a calculation you already understand, not a place to learn the calculation.
For the later lessons on deposits and withdrawals, you will need a phone with M-Pesa and a bank account. The route uses KSh (KES) in every example. The instrument used in examples is EUR/USD, around 1.0850. These are examples only. The route does not recommend a broker, and it does not tell you which regulator to check. It tells you that regulation varies, and that you must check the CMA register yourself.
Work through the route in order
The first four lessons build a single skill: reading a price and turning it into money. You start with what happens when you press Buy. Then you read a quote like 1.0850. Then you calculate what a pip is worth in KSh (KES). Then you learn how many pips a standard, mini, and micro lot contains. Do these four before you touch a demo account. They take about four days at two hours a day.
The next four lessons add cost and control. You learn the three costs: spread, commission, and swap. You learn how leverage and margin decide how much of the trade is yours. You learn the difference between a market order, a limit order, and a stop order. Then you learn stop loss and take profit. This is the point where most people want to trade. Do not. You still have no way to size the trade.
The last six lessons turn knowledge into a routine. You compare MT4, MT5, and cTrader. You open a demo account and learn what it teaches and where it lies. You open a live account and pass verification. You learn deposits and withdrawals with M-Pesa and bank transfer. Then you learn the 1-2% rule and how to work out position size. The final lesson is the first time you place a sized trade on a demo account. That is the goal of the route.
Doing it once, step by step
Follow these steps in order. Each step names what to do and what to have finished before moving on.
- 01
Set up your notebook
Write the date at the top of a new page. Draw three columns: lesson name, what I calculated, and what I got wrong. You will fill this in as you go. The notebook is not optional. It is how you catch a mistake before it costs money.
- 02
Complete the first four lessons
Read the lessons on Buy, quotes, pip value, and lots. For each one, write the example numbers in your notebook and recalculate them by hand. Do not move on until you can explain 1.0850 and a pip value in KSh (KES) without looking. This should take four days.
- 03
Add costs and control
Read the lessons on spread, commission, swap, leverage, margin, order types, stop loss, and take profit. For each, write one sentence in your notebook saying what it changes about a trade. You are not trading yet. You are building the vocabulary you need for position size.
- 04
Open a demo account and compare platforms
Read the lesson on MT4, MT5, and cTrader. Open a demo account on one of them. Place a market order for one micro lot on EUR/USD. Then place a limit order and a stop order. Check that each one appears where you expected. This is practice, not a test.
- 05
Learn the local money steps
Read the lessons on opening an account, verification, deposits, and withdrawals. Find out what documents your chosen broker asks for. Check whether it accepts M-Pesa and bank transfer, and what it charges. These details vary between brokers, so write down what yours says.
- 06
Calculate position size before any trade
Read the 1-2% rule and the position size lesson. Pick a demo account balance in KSh (KES). Choose a risk of 1%. Calculate the position size for a EUR/USD trade with a stop loss. Write the calculation in your notebook. Then place that sized trade on the demo account. That is the end of the route.
Questions that come up next
Do I need money to start this route?
No. The first eleven lessons use no real money at all. You need a notebook, a pen, a calculator and a quiet hour a day. A demo account comes later, and it is free. Real money only becomes relevant in the lessons on deposits and withdrawals, and even there you can read without paying anything.
What if I miss a day or fall behind?
The route still works. The order matters more than the speed. Two hours a day for two weeks is a guide, not a deadline. If you have one hour a day, the same fourteen lessons take about four weeks. Do not skip a lesson to catch up. Each lesson uses only what the ones before it taught.
Can I use a different currency pair in the examples?
The route uses EUR/USD, around 1.0850, in every example. You can substitute another pair once you understand the method, but the numbers beside each figure will no longer match. Learn the method on the example first. Then repeat the same calculation on whatever pair you choose.
Why does the route put position size last?
Position size needs three things you do not have at the start. It needs the pip value in money, the lot size you are using, and the risk per trade rule. Each of those is a separate lesson earlier in the route. If you jump to position size first, you meet a term you cannot yet use.
Does finishing the route mean I am ready to trade live?
No. It means you can read a quote, work out a pip value, choose a lot size and calculate a position size on a demo account. Whether to trade live is a separate decision, and it depends on your own money and circumstances. The route does not promise a result, and it does not tell you what to expect.
Which broker should I use for the demo account?
The route does not recommend a broker. Brokers differ in spread, commission, swap, platform and payment methods, and those differences vary between them. What you should check is whether the firm appears on the CMA register. Check that register yourself rather than relying on any list.
The words used on this page
- demo account
- A practice account that shows live prices but uses no real money. It lets you place a sized trade and see the result without risking anything. It teaches the mechanics, but it does not teach how you behave when the money is real.
- pip value
- The amount of money one pip of movement is worth for the size you are trading. It depends on the lot size and on the currency the account is held in. You calculate it before you place a trade, not after.
- margin
- The part of a leveraged trade that is your own money, held aside by the broker. The rest is borrowed. Margin is not a cost and not a loss. It is the deposit that keeps the position open.
- spread
- The gap between the price at which you can buy and the price at which you can sell. It is one of the three costs of a trade, alongside commission and swap. It is charged on entry, whether the trade wins or loses.
- position size
- The number of lots you trade, chosen so that a stop loss costs a set share of your account. It is the last thing you work out, after pip value and the risk rule. It is the number that turns a plan into an order.
- verification
- The step where a broker checks your identity and address before you can deposit or withdraw. It usually needs a national ID or passport and a document showing where you live. It takes time, so start it before you need the money to move.
What to take away
- Follow the fourteen lessons in order. Each one uses only what the lessons before it taught.
- Have a notebook, a pen and a calculator ready before lesson one. You do not need money.
- Open the demo account after you can read a quote and calculate a pip value, not before.
- Finishing the route gets you a sized trade on a demo account. It does not promise a result.