Updated November 2026
How to learn trading comes down to order and practice: one topic a week, one demo exercise to go with it, and a test before you move on. This page sets that out as a 12-week timetable you can print.
Each week names a Ouinex Academy guide to read, one exercise to do on a demo account and a pass test that ignores profit and loss, so you learn trading in the order the topics build on each other. It is a plan, not a shortcut. If you want how to learn trading for beginners, start at week 1.
CFD and crypto perpetual trading involves risk of loss. Leverage amplifies both gains and losses, and a demo account cannot show how you will trade with real money.
How to learn trading: the short answer
To learn trading, study one topic a week in a fixed order, practise it on a demo account the same week, and move on only when you pass a test that ignores profit and loss.
The best way to learn trading is in order, with practice, and with a test before moving on. For beginners, order matters most: costs and risk come before charts, because a signal means little until you know what a trade costs and what you can lose. The Academy guide How to start trading covers the steps that come after this plan.
Before week 1: what you need
- A demo account. For what a demo is, read how a demo trading account works.
- A notebook or a spreadsheet for the weekly logs.
- About 4 hours a week to read, practise and log.
On Ouinex, forex, indices and commodities are traded as CFDs and crypto as perpetuals: you speculate on price without owning the asset. Trading leveraged products carries a high risk of loss.
The 12-week plan
Exercises are on a demo account. Tests check rules and numbers, never results.
Week | Topic | Read | Demo exercise | Done when (ignores profit and loss) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | How a trade works | Place 5 market and 5 limit orders. Note each fill against the quote you saw. | You can explain why each fill differed from the quote. | |
2 | What a trade costs | Academy: The bid-ask spread explained; a full breakdown of Ouinex trading fees | Log the spread on 3 markets at 3 times of day. | Your 3 by 3 spread log is complete. |
3 | Derivatives: CFDs and perpetuals | Open and close one CFD and one perpetual. Find both in your trade history. | You can say what you held instead of the asset. | |
4 | Leverage and margin | How leverage works; Tips: How to calculate margin | Work out the margin on 3 trades by hand, then check the order ticket. | Your 3 numbers match the ticket. |
5 | Risk per trade and stop-losses | Place 10 trades, each with a stop set at entry and a size set from a fixed percentage of the demo balance. | Stop and size set on 10 of 10. | |
6 | Reading charts | Mark 10 patterns on past charts. Write down what followed, without judging it. | 10 patterns marked and noted. | |
7 | Indicators | Technical analysis indicators; Tips: How to use moving averages | Add one moving average to a chart. Log 5 times it turned after price did. | 5 lags logged. |
8 | Fundamentals and the calendar | Fundamental analysis explained; Tips: Reading the dollar index (DXY) | Watch one scheduled data release. Log the spread before and after it. No trade needed. | Before and after spreads logged. |
9 | Market hours and sessions | Forex market hours; Tips: When does the US stock market open in UK time | Watch the London and New York overlap twice. Log the spread each time. | Two sessions logged. |
10 | A written trading plan | Academy: 5 rookie mistakes that can wreck your trading account; Academy: Trading plan template | Write a one-page plan: entry reason, exit, stop, size, maximum loss per trade and per day. | Every field filled in. |
11 | Psychology and a journal | Academy: The fear of missing out (FOMO) in trading; Academy: Trading psychology; Academy: Trading journal | Place 20 demo trades under the plan and journal each one. | 20 of 20 journalled; rule breaks counted. |
12 | Review: go or no-go | The demo account guide linked above; Academy: When to switch from a demo to a live account | Read the journal against the plan. | Go only if every week-11 trade followed the plan. Otherwise, repeat weeks 10 to 12. |
Weeks 1 to 3: how markets and costs work
The plan starts with mechanics, not charts. Week 1 shows why a fill can differ from the price on screen. Week 2 puts a number on that gap: the spread is paid on every trade, so you log it before learning any signal. On Ouinex there is zero commission on forex, stock indices and commodities: you pay the spread. Crypto perpetuals carry a 0.045% fee. Week 3 shows what a CFD or a perpetual is: a contract on price, not the asset. Trading leveraged products carries a high risk of loss.
Weeks 4 and 5: leverage, margin and risk
Leverage comes after costs because it scales them. Week 4 is arithmetic: margin by hand, checked against the ticket. Week 5 turns that into a rule: every trade gets a stop at entry and a size from a fixed share of the balance, chosen before the trade. The test counts whether you did this 10 times, not how the trades ended. Leverage amplifies losses as well as gains, and trading leveraged products carries a high risk of loss.
Weeks 6 to 9: charts, indicators, data and sessions
Charts arrive only now. Week 6 is pattern spotting on past charts, with no trades and no verdicts. Week 7 adds one indicator and logs where it lagged, so you learn its weakness before its signal. Weeks 8 and 9 move from the chart to the clock: data releases and session overlaps are times when spreads can change, and your logs show by how much. None of these four weeks needs a trade to pass.
Weeks 10 to 12: plan, journal, review
The last three weeks join the parts up. Week 10 is a one-page plan, written before any week-11 trade. Week 11 runs 20 trades under it and journals each one, rule breaks included. Week 12 reads the journal against the plan. If your next question is how to learn day trading, treat it as a separate step after week 12: the Academy guide How to day trade covers it.
The go or no-go check at week 12
At the end of week 12, check your record against five yes-or-no items. None is a profit figure.
- Plan written: a one-page plan, every field filled in, before week 11 began.
- Stops on every trade: each of the 20 week-11 trades had a stop set at entry.
- Size within the plan: no trade was larger than the plan allowed.
- Journal complete: 20 of 20 trades journalled, with the reason for entry and exit.
- Rule breaks counted: every break is recorded, and the count is zero.
Five yeses is a go. Any no means you repeat weeks 10 to 12. A go means only that you followed your own rules on a demo for 20 trades. It does not mean you are ready to trade with real money, and it says nothing about future results.
What the demo cannot teach. Two things stay out of reach. The first is emotion: a demo loss does not feel like losing your own money, so rules that are easy to keep on a demo can be harder to keep live. The second is execution: slippage, the gap between the price you expect and the price you get, may not show up on a demo the way it does in a live market. The Academy guide When to switch from a demo to a live account looks at that gap in detail.
CFD and crypto perpetual trading involves risk of loss. Leverage amplifies both gains and losses, and a demo account cannot show how you will trade with real money.
FAQ: learning to trade
How long does it take to learn trading?
There is no fixed time, and no point at which learning stops. This plan covers the basics in 12 weeks at about 4 hours a week. When a weekly test is not passed, you repeat that week instead of moving on, so for many people the plan takes longer. That is by design.
Can you teach yourself to trade?
Yes, many people learn the basics on their own. Self-study needs what a course would otherwise supply: an order to learn topics in, regular demo practice, and a test before moving on. This plan gives all three. What it cannot give is feedback from another person, so your journal has to do that job.
How do I learn stock trading if I only want shares?
Follow the same plan and choose share markets for the exercises. On Ouinex, shares are traded as CFDs: you speculate on the share price without owning the shares. Stock derivatives carry a 0.3% fee. Trading leveraged products carries a high risk of loss.
Do I need to pay for a trading course?
No. A course can save time, but it is not required. If you look at one, check it against a plan like this: does it cover costs and risk before charts, include practice, and test whether you follow rules rather than your results? Be wary of any course that promises income or results.
Conclusion
Learning to trade is a matter of order, practice and testing: costs and risk first, charts after, and a written plan before any run of trades. No weekly test looks at profit or loss.
The week-12 check is about rules, not returns. Passing it shows you followed your plan on a demo. It does not show how you will trade with real money, and it is not a reason to start.
Trading leveraged products carries a high risk of loss. Before the week 2 exercise, read a full breakdown of Ouinex trading fees.
