You want to start trading and do not know where to begin? These are the seven steps I would give every beginner. They are deliberately sober: the most common mistake at the start is not a lack of knowledge, but risking too much money too early.
First of all: are you really interested in trading?
For me, the most important point comes before all the others: whether you are genuinely interested in trading. If you only want to trade for the money, I believe you will fail. You need motivation and real passion for the markets.
1. Understand what you are trading
First learn how a leveraged product works, what margin and spread mean, and how quickly an account can be emptied with the wrong position size. With CFDs, the large majority of retail investors lose money. If you know that beforehand, you approach things differently. You will find the basics in the CFD FAQ and in the Trading glossary.
2. Be clear about how much time you have
The time you have available decides which trading style suits you. Day trading means sitting in front of the chart during trading hours. If you work full time, you will not have time for that. Then swing trading on the hourly or 4-hour chart is the better choice: you analyse in the morning or evening, and your trades run over several days.
3. Practise on a demo account first, without real money
Get to know the trading platform and the market on a demo account and in the Trading simulator first. There you can try out orders, stops and position sizes without a mistake costing you money.
4. Choose one market and one method and stick with them
One market, one timeframe, a few clear rules. If you keep switching between markets and strategies, you can never find out what works. I describe how I work myself under Technical trading.
5. Plan the risk before the profit
Decide how much you risk per trade. 0.5 to 1 % of the account is common. This gives you your position size, and every trade gets a stop before you enter. That decides your survival in the market more than any entry method. You can work it out with the Position size calculator .
6. Only use money whose loss would not change your life
Trading capital is risk capital. Do not use money you need for emergencies, and never trade on credit. In the first months, realistically, your stake is the price of your education. Only switch to real money once you have followed your rules on the demo account for at least 50 to 100 trades, and then start with the smallest possible size. Real money feels different from play money.
7. Write down every trade and evaluate honestly
Note your entry, stop, target, the result in R and whether you stuck to your plan. Your journal shows you whether the problem is the method or your discipline. Usually it is the discipline.
These steps are meant as guidance and are not investment advice.