Understand it before you fund it
The guides we wish existed when we started: honest, specific and free of the get-rich-quick nonsense. Grouped so you can find what you need fast.
Trading Simulator Lite
Practise risk, stop-loss and leverage decisions with fake money, then read your trader profile. Educational only.
Getting started
How to choose a broker (without the hype)
The checklist we use on every review: regulation, all-in cost, execution, withdrawals and fit.
Trading glossary
Pip, spread, leverage, swap, CFD and more — every term explained in plain English.
Market, limit and stop orders explained
The four orders every platform offers, what each one does, and which one protects you from a bad fill.
Why brokers don't accept clients from your country
The legal reasons brokers exclude the US, Canada and dozens of other countries — and why a VPN workaround can freeze your withdrawal.
Risk basics
What is a CFD? A plain-English explainer
Contracts for difference let you trade price moves without owning the asset — and let you lose more than you put in. Here's how they work.
How leverage actually works — and ruins accounts
Why 30:1 is a warning, not a feature. Worked examples of how leverage magnifies losses.
Margin and margin calls, without the jargon
What margin really is, how a margin call and a stop-out happen, and why positions get closed at the worst moment.
Risk management basics: position sizing and stop-losses
The boring habits that keep accounts alive — risking a fixed small percentage, sizing positions and using stops properly.
Costs and fees
The real cost of every trade
Spread, commission, swap, conversion and the fees that only appear after you fund — added up the way they actually hit you.
Spread-only vs raw-spread accounts: which is cheaper?
Raw-spread plus commission isn't automatically cheaper than a wider spread with no commission. How to work out which fits how you trade.
Broker safety
How to verify a broker's licence yourself
A five-minute check on the regulator's official register that catches clone firms, fake licences and offshore bait-and-switch.
8 broker red flags that should stop you depositing
Withdrawal stalls, pushy 'account managers', guaranteed returns and other warning signs of a platform you should avoid.
Deposit bonuses and the catch in the small print
Why a '100% deposit bonus' usually comes with volume conditions that can trap your own money. Read this before you opt in.
How broker withdrawals work — and why they get delayed
Verification, the same-method rule, weekends and processing times — what's normal, what's a stall, and how to get paid out faster.
The broker brand is not the company that holds your money
One brand can mean four legal entities with different compensation cover and leverage caps. How to find which one is on your account.
Tier-1 vs offshore broker licences: what each actually gets you
What tier-1 licences add (compensation cover, 30:1 caps), what offshore regulation means in practice, and why your account's entity decides.
What is a clone firm? How scammers copy real, licensed brokers
Clone firms reuse a genuine broker's name and licence number to take deposits they never return. How the scam works and how to spot one.
FSCS, ICF and broker compensation schemes explained
What FSCS and ICF cover, what they don't, and why the compensation behind your account depends on the legal entity, not the brand.
Crypto
Fee & regulation guides
Direct answers to specific broker questions — XM fees, UK licence checks, brand verification and more.