How markets work, from zero

36 short episodes on how markets work, from what a price is to position sizing: stocks, forex, commodities and crypto, each with one number we measured on real data, kind by kind.

A. What is a market

01 · What is a price, really? · watch
Know that a price is the last trade, and that buying and selling happen at two different prices (bid and ask). (crypto perpetuals, stocks, commodities)
02 · Exchange or broker: who is on the other side? · video coming soon
Tell an exchange (order book, many traders) from a broker (one counterparty), and why it matters for your fills. (crypto perpetuals, stocks, commodities)
03 · Stocks: what do you own when you buy one? · video coming soon
Know that a share is a piece of a company, traded on an exchange during opening hours. (stocks)
04 · Forex: why currencies always come in pairs · video coming soon
Read EUR/USD as 'how many dollars for one euro', and know forex trades 24 h, 5 days a week. (forex)
05 · Commodities: gold, oil and why futures exist · video coming soon
Know what a commodity contract is and why gold and oil move differently from stocks. (commodities)
06 · Crypto: spot vs perpetual futures · video coming soon
Tell owning a coin (spot) from a perpetual future (a contract that never expires and pays funding). (crypto perpetuals)
07 · Indices: why 'the market is up' means 500 stocks · video coming soon
Know what an index is and why one number can stand for a whole stock market. (stocks)
08 · When are markets open? · video coming soon
Know the opening hours of each kind: stocks have a close, forex 24/5, crypto 24/7. (crypto perpetuals, stocks, forex, commodities)
09 · Spread: the cost you pay before anything happens · video coming soon
Know that every trade starts slightly negative by the spread, and that it differs by market and hour. (crypto perpetuals, stocks, forex, commodities)
10 · Liquidity: why some markets jump and others glide · video coming soon
Know that thin markets move more for the same order, and where that shows on a chart. (crypto perpetuals, commodities)

B. Reading a chart

11 · One candle: open, high, low, close · video coming soon
Read the four prices of any candle on any market. (crypto perpetuals, stocks, forex, commodities)
12 · Timeframes: same market, different story · video coming soon
Know that a 15-minute and a daily chart of the same market can show opposite trends. (crypto perpetuals)
13 · Gaps: why stocks jump at the open and crypto doesn't · video coming soon
Know what a gap is, why it happens when a market closes, and why 24/7 markets rarely have one. (stocks, crypto perpetuals)
14 · Volume: who is actually trading · video coming soon
Read the volume bars and know what high volume does and does not tell you. (crypto perpetuals)
15 · Trend: higher highs, higher lows · video coming soon
Spot an up trend and a down trend from the swings, without any indicator. (crypto perpetuals, stocks, forex, commodities)
16 · Support and resistance · video coming soon
Draw a level from past turning points and know how often price really respects it. (crypto perpetuals, stocks)
17 · How far does each market move in a day? · video coming soon
Know the normal daily move of each kind, so a 'big move' means something. (crypto perpetuals, stocks, forex, commodities)

C. Orders and positions

18 · Market order vs limit order · video coming soon
Know the difference between paying the spread now and waiting at your price. (crypto perpetuals, stocks, forex, commodities)
19 · Stop orders: the exit you set in advance · video coming soon
Know how a stop order works and why it can fill worse than its price. (crypto perpetuals)
20 · Long and short · video coming soon
Know that you can profit from a fall, and what it costs to stay short. (crypto perpetuals, stocks)
21 · Lots, pips and contract size · video coming soon
Translate a position size between forex lots, crypto contracts and shares. (forex, crypto perpetuals, stocks)
22 · Leverage and margin · video coming soon
Know that leverage changes the size, not the edge, and how close liquidation sits. (crypto perpetuals)
23 · Funding: the hidden cost of perpetuals · video coming soon
Know what funding is, who pays it, and what it costs over a month. (crypto perpetuals)
24 · Fees and slippage: what a trade really costs · video coming soon
Add up fee + spread + slippage for one round trip, kind by kind. (crypto perpetuals, stocks, forex, commodities)

D. The tools

25 · Moving averages · video coming soon
Draw a moving average and know what it smooths and how late it is. (crypto perpetuals, stocks, forex, commodities)
26 · RSI · video coming soon
Read RSI and know what 'overbought' did next on our data. (crypto perpetuals, stocks)
27 · ATR: measuring volatility · video coming soon
Use ATR to size a stop to the market instead of a fixed %. (crypto perpetuals, stocks, forex, commodities)
28 · MACD · video coming soon
Read the MACD lines and know it is two moving averages in disguise. (crypto perpetuals)
29 · Bollinger bands · video coming soon
Read the bands and know how often price really stays inside. (crypto perpetuals, forex)
30 · Fibonacci levels · video coming soon
Draw a Fibonacci retracement and know what our data says about the famous levels. (crypto perpetuals)
31 · Chart patterns: what they are and what we measured · video coming soon
Name the common patterns and know which ones our tests could not tell from chance. (crypto perpetuals)

E. Advanced

32 · Correlation: when markets move together · video coming soon
Know when bitcoin moves with stocks, and why it matters for risk. (crypto perpetuals, stocks, commodities)
33 · News days: rates, inflation and the calendar · video coming soon
Know why some days move more and how to check the calendar first. (stocks, forex)
34 · Market structure: the words SMC uses · video coming soon
Translate BOS, CHoCH, order block and liquidity into plain chart words. (crypto perpetuals)
35 · Position size: risk a fixed share, not a fixed amount · video coming soon
Size a position from the stop distance so every trade risks the same. (crypto perpetuals, stocks, forex, commodities)
36 · Why most strategies fail · video coming soon
Know the three traps (costs, luck, overfitting) and where to learn to test a strategy. (crypto perpetuals, stocks, forex, commodities)

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Education about how markets work. Not financial advice.