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Forex course: a practical guide

ByLuis Sanches y Milton Bertillo, mentors at SHEFA Trading Academy · Updated on 22 September 2026 · Reading time: 6 min

Learning to trade currencies requires understanding the structure of a decentralised, interbank market that is highly sensitive to macroeconomic data. If you are looking for aforex course or aforex mentorship structured, the main objective should be to master money management, understand execution mechanics and execute a verifiable statistical edge.

What you need to understand before trading

Before executing the first order, it is essential to master the basics ofwhat the forex market is and the terminology that governs every transaction:

• Currency pair: In forex, one currency is always traded against another. The first is the base currency and the second is the quote currency (for example, in the pairEUR/USD, the euro is the base and the dollar is the quote currency).
• Pip (Percentage in Point): It is the minimum unit of price change in most pairs, usually at the fourth decimal (0.0001). In pairs with the Japanese yen (JPY), it is at the second decimal (0.01).
• Lot: Standard unit of measurement for quantifying the volume of a trade. One standard lot equals 100,000 units of the base currency.
• Swap: The difference in interest rates between the two currencies in the pair. It is charged or paid when holding an open position from one day to the next (tradesovernight o swing).
• Leverage in forex: A tool that allows you to control a larger amount of capital in the market by posting a smaller margin. Leverage of 1:100 means that for every dollar in your account you can move 100 in the market. It increases capital efficiency, but increases the potential impact on losses if the stop loss is not managed.

To take the first steps, choosing the platform is key. Thebest forex broker for beginners is not the one that gives away bonuses, but the one regulated by serious regulators (such as FCA, ASIC or CySEC), offering transparent costs, ECN/raw execution and unrestricted demo accounts to practise risk management.

How it works in practice

Knowinghow to trade forex means moving from theory to daily routine: analysing the macroeconomic context, waiting for the right session and calculating entry costs before pressing the button.

Sessions and schedules

The market operates 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday, split into four major blocks: Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York. Reviewing in detail themarket hours helps focus trading on the periods of greatest trading volatility.

During the Asian session, prices tend to consolidate, forming narrow ranges. Many traders monitor theforex opening ranges(such as the break of the Asian session range or the range of the first 30-60 minutes of theLondon session) to identify continuation or reversal patterns when European and American liquidity comes in.

From spread to real cost in R

Every time you open a position, you start in the red due to thespread, which is the difference between the buy price (ask) and the sell price (bid).

To maintain professional control, the commission and spread must be translated into the base risk unit (R). If yourrisk per trade(1R) is 20 USD and the combined cost of spread and commission equals 2 USD, you are taking on friction of 10% of your R before the price starts moving in your favour.

The following table summarises volume sizes and their equivalent in the EUR/USD pair:

How risk per trade is calculated

The golden rule of sustainable trading is to define monetary risk before setting position size. The process for determining thelot and risk per trade in forex follows this order:

1. Define the total account capital.
2. Set the maximum percentage to risk (between 0,5% and 1% per trade is recommended).
3. Measure the technical stop loss distance in pips.
4. Adjust the technical lot size according to the pip value of the corresponding pair.

Numerical example with an account of 1.000

Imagine a trading account with a balance of1.000 USD where you decide to risk the1% in a trade inEUR/USD:

• Maximum monetary risk: 1.000 USD × 1% = 10 USD.
• Technical stop loss: Suppose the chart indicates an invalidation level at20 pips from the entry point.
• Required pip value: 10 USD / 20 pips = 0,50 USD per pip.

Knowing that 1 micro lot (0.01) equals 0,10 USD per pip on EUR/USD:

• Position size: 0,50 USD / 0,10 USD = 0,05 lots(5 micro lots).

This way, if the position hits the stop loss, the loss will be exactly 10 USD (1% of the account), regardless of momentary volatility.

Typical mistakes when coming from synthetics

Many traders make the jump from synthetic indices to the forex market, committing structural errors because they do not adapt their trading mindset:

• Ignoring the economic calendar: Synthetic indices are not affected by real events. In forex, an inflation figure (CPI) or Federal Reserve interest rate decisions generate extreme volatility, slippage (slippage) and widening spreads.
• Disregarding liquidity fluctuations: A synthetic quotes with the same constant dynamics 24 hours a day. In forex, trading at the close of the New York session or during therollover(change of trading day) involves disproportionate spreads and low liquidity.
• Not calculating the swap: Holding positions open for several days in synthetics usually has fixed or zero costs. In forex, the interbank market charges or pays overnight commissions (swap) that can eat into accumulated profit if they are not planned for.
• Overleveraging out of habit: In synthetics, minimum lots and ticks are calculated according to the broker's own scale. Applying the same lot size parameters in forex without calculating pip value usually leads to accelerated capital losses.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• What forex is and how it works
• EURUSD: how to trade the most traded pair
• Forex hours and sessions: when to trade
• What the spread is in forex and how much it costs you