Trading Fundamentals — Getting Started Safely

Market types

Market	What it is	Key risks	Best for beginners?
Spot	Buy/sell the asset itself and hold in a wallet or on exchange.	Volatility, custody security.	Yes — start here.
Margin	Borrow funds to amplify trades.	Liquidation if price moves against you; interest costs.	No — requires strict risk controls.
Perpetual futures	Derivatives that track asset price with funding payments.	High leverage, funding fees, complex risk.	No — learn extensively first.
Options	Contracts giving right (not obligation) to buy/sell later.	Premium decay, complex strategies.	No — advanced only.

Market order: Fills immediately at best available price. Use sparingly; can suffer slippage.
Limit order: Sets a price. Fills only if market trades there or better. Preferred for controlled entries/exits.
Stop order: Triggers a market/limit order when price crosses a level. Use for risk management.
OCO (One-Cancels-Other): Combines take-profit and stop-loss. When one executes, the other cancels.

Practice entering and canceling each order type in a demo environment before using real funds.

Example: Account $2,000, willing to risk 1% ($20). If stop is $100 away from entry, position size = $20 ÷ $100 = 0.2 units.

Use stop-loss orders and honor them — no moving stops further away.
Track daily loss limits. If you hit it, pause for the day.
Reduce size around major news events or when volatility spikes sharply.
Keep a trade journal with screenshots, reasoning, emotions, and lessons learned.

Never average down without a pre-defined plan. Doubling exposure in hope rarely ends well.

Open a demo or sandbox account. Many exchanges offer paper trading.
Simulate at least 30 trades using the same rules you plan to apply live.
Review metrics weekly: win rate, average gain/loss, maximum drawdown.
Only move to live trading after consistent positive expectancy and emotional stability.
Start live with the smallest position size your exchange allows.