How Trading Actually Works
A plain-English tour of what really happens when you trade — the order, the costs, the leverage, the products, the platform, the risks, and the regulators standing behind it all.
- 1Part 1 of 9 12 min
How Trading Works: What Happens When You Trade
How trading actually works: the journey from your order to the market and back, the costs and rules at each step, and the retail-loss reality.
Read part 1 - 2Part 2 of 9 10 min
Order Types Explained: Market, Limit and Stop
Order types explained: market, limit and stop orders, how execution and slippage work, and why the price you ask for isn't the one you always get.
Read part 2 - 3Part 3 of 9 10 min
Trading Costs Explained: Spread, Commission, Fees
Trading costs explained: the bid-ask spread, commission, overnight financing and hidden fees, and how they quietly decide whether you come out ahead.
Read part 3 - 4Part 4 of 9 12 min
Leverage & Margin Explained: How It Magnifies Loss
Leverage and margin explained: how borrowing to trade magnifies losses as much as gains, margin calls, liquidation, and the regulator caps that exist because of the damage.
Read part 4 - 5Part 5 of 9 12 min
Shares vs CFDs vs Spread Betting: The Difference
Shares vs CFDs vs spread betting explained: owning an asset versus betting on its price, the leverage and tax differences, and the UK/Australia split.
Read part 5 - 6Part 6 of 9 10 min
Short Selling Explained: Risks of Betting on a Fall
Short selling explained: how you profit when a price falls, why the losses can be open-ended, and what a short squeeze is — for beginners.
Read part 6 - 7Part 7 of 9 10 min
Trading Platforms Explained: Brokers & Red Flags
What a trading platform really is: how brokers make money, why regulation and client-money segregation matter, and how to spot an offshore trap.
Read part 7 - 8Part 8 of 9 10 min
Managing Risk in Trading: Sizing, Stops, Ruin
Managing risk in trading: position sizing, stop-losses and their limits, drawdown and risk of ruin — and why risk control can't make a losing edge profitable.
Read part 8 - 9Part 9 of 9 12 min
Is Trading Regulated? FCA, ASIC & How to Check
Who protects traders: the FCA and ASIC regimes, leverage caps, negative-balance protection, FSCS and AFCA compensation, and how to verify a firm is authorised.
Read part 9