Module 1: Foundations
9 lessons, in reading order.
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How Markets Work: Bids, Asks, Spread and Liquidity
How markets work: who is on the other side of a trade, what the bid, ask and spread are, and what liquidity and volatility mean and why they change.
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What You Can Trade: Stocks, ETFs, Futures and Options
What you own or owe with stocks, ETFs, futures and options, how futures contracts are specified, and why leverage magnifies both gains and losses.
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Order Types Explained: Market, Limit, Stop and Bracket
How market, limit, stop and stop-limit orders work, what a bracket order is, time in force, and why fills can differ from the price you expected.
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Trading Sessions and Costs: Hours, Fees and Slippage
How regular and extended trading hours differ for stocks and futures, the main costs of trading from commissions to slippage, and why taxes matter.
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Exchanges, Brokers and Clearing: Who Does What in a Trade
Learn what exchanges, brokers and clearinghouses each do, how an order travels from a screen to a finished trade, and which US bodies oversee each part.
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Reading a Quote: NBBO, Level 1 and Level 2
Learn what a Level 1 quote shows, how the NBBO combines quotes across US exchanges, what Level 2 depth adds and what hidden or reserve size it can leave out.
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Leverage and Margin Across Stocks, Futures and Options
Learn why margin means a loan for stocks, a performance bond for futures and a premium or deposit for options, and how leverage itself is measured.
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Account Types and the Pattern Day Trader Rule
Learn how cash and margin accounts differ, how the legacy US pattern day trader rule and FINRA’s adopted intraday-margin framework coexist during the broker transition, and how futures accounts differ.
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Choosing a Broker: Questions to Ask, Not Answers to Copy
A neutral list of questions for comparing brokers: costs, order routing, margin and protection, plus how to check registration and history for free.