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Free toolPosition size calculatorAccount, stop, risk percentage - it gives you units, not opinions.
Free toolPosition size calculatorAccount, stop, risk percentage - it gives you units, not opinions.

Author

David Alexander

David has spent over a decade in retail and institutional trading, most recently as CMO at several brokerages and trading education providers. His work spans broker infrastructure, product strategy and trader education, with a focus on the systems and tools traders actually use. He writes the Tick Sprout curriculum.

A senior leader in the trading and fintech industry, serving as the CMO at Multiple Brokers and Educators. With deep experience across the retail & Institutional trading space - from broker infrastructure to trader education - David has spent over a decade building platforms, systems, and user journeys that genuinely support traders at every level. His work spans product strategy, trading psychology, user experience, and the design of tools that help real traders succeed in real markets.

200 published lessons

Every lesson carries the name of whoever wrote it. Nothing here is unattributed, and nothing is a recommendation to trade.

Commodities

  1. A commodity contract is a promise about a physical thingHow commodity markets work
  2. Why there is no single oil priceHow commodity markets work
  3. Who trades commodities, and why most of it is not speculationHow commodity markets work
  4. Where a commodity price actually comes fromHow commodity markets work
  5. What you are actually trading is not the barrelHow commodity markets work
  6. What actually moves a commodity priceHow commodity markets work
  7. Storage is what connects one month to the nextHow commodity markets work
  8. What one contract actually controlsHow commodity markets work
  9. The commodity day, and the date your position stops being optionalHow commodity markets work
  10. The wrapper decides the costWhat trading commodities costs
  11. What a commodity spread costs, by product and by monthWhat trading commodities costs
  12. CFD financing: paying interest on the whole barrelWhat trading commodities costs
  13. Futures margin is not a costWhat trading commodities costs
  14. The roll: where the contango cost actually landsWhat trading commodities costs
  15. Commissions, exchange fees and dataWhat trading commodities costs
  16. Slippage: settlement, reports and thin monthsWhat trading commodities costs
  17. Metals specifics: lots, ticks and gold's two speedsWhat trading commodities costs
  18. The all-in cost of one commodity tradeWhat trading commodities costs
  19. Risk per trade, in money before ticksManaging commodity risk
  20. Sizing: from risk to whole contractsManaging commodity risk
  21. The stop sized to the instrument's range, not a round numberManaging commodity risk
  22. The gap your stop cannot cover keeps a scheduleManaging commodity risk
  23. Sizing for the gap, not the stopManaging commodity risk
  24. Leverage on a violent instrumentManaging commodity risk
  25. Energy moves together, metals mostly doManaging commodity risk
  26. Margin calls, and the exit you did not chooseManaging commodity risk
  27. The commodity risk plan on one pageManaging commodity risk
  28. What commodity analysis is actually forCommodity analysis foundations
  29. The balance sheet: supply, demand and the stocks betweenCommodity analysis foundations
  30. Analysing supply: slow, lumpy and politicalCommodity analysis foundations
  31. Analysing demand: the economy wearing unitsCommodity analysis foundations
  32. Inventories: the number that resolves the argumentCommodity analysis foundations
  33. Each market's calendarCommodity analysis foundations
  34. Positioning: reading the COT reportCommodity analysis foundations
  35. Technical structure where fundamentals are slowCommodity analysis foundations
  36. Building a commodity readCommodity analysis foundations

Crypto

  1. A coin is an entry on a ledgerHow crypto markets work
  2. The venue is not the marketHow crypto markets work
  3. Who trades cryptoHow crypto markets work
  4. There is no closeHow crypto markets work
  5. Custody is a trading decisionHow crypto markets work
  6. Your quote is your venue'sHow crypto markets work
  7. What actually moves cryptoHow crypto markets work
  8. Position arithmetic on a fractional assetHow crypto markets work
  9. The day that does not existHow crypto markets work
  10. Volatility is priced risk, not opportunityManaging crypto risk
  11. Sizing for a 20% sessionManaging crypto risk
  12. What crypto analysis is: crowd-reading, stated honestlyCrypto analysis foundations
  13. Narrative cyclesCrypto analysis foundations
  14. The macro linkage that arrivedCrypto analysis foundations
  15. Positioning: crypto's one real edgeCrypto analysis foundations
  16. Technical structure without a closeCrypto analysis foundations
  17. The sectors of cryptoCrypto analysis foundations
  18. Reflexivity: when the story moves the price moves the storyCrypto analysis foundations
  19. The noise: influencers, shills and manufactured convictionCrypto analysis foundations
  20. Building a crypto readCrypto analysis foundations
  21. Custody in full: the operational disciplineCrypto specialist topics
  22. On-chain analysis, properlyCrypto specialist topics
  23. Stablecoin mechanics, in fullCrypto specialist topics
  24. The DeFi frontier, described honestlyCrypto specialist topics
  25. The crypto derivatives structure, in fullCrypto specialist topics
  26. Market structure and manipulationCrypto specialist topics
  27. The regulatory landscape, and why it is the mapCrypto specialist topics
  28. Tax and record-keepingCrypto specialist topics
  29. Everything the crypto track deferredCrypto specialist topics

Stocks and Shares

  1. Reading an equity quote: pence, ticks and the touchReading equity markets
  2. The spread is a per-name factReading equity markets
  3. Volume that actually means somethingReading equity markets
  4. Reading a stock chart against its index and its sectorReading equity markets
  5. Reading gaps around earningsReading equity markets
  6. The out-of-hours pictureReading equity markets
  7. Levels where something actually tradedReading equity markets
  8. Reading the news tapeReading equity markets
  9. Why stock charts rhyme - and when they refuse toReading equity markets
  10. What equity analysis is for: the business is real, the multiple is a moodEquity analysis foundations
  11. Reading an earnings report at working depthEquity analysis foundations
  12. Guidance, and the expectations gameEquity analysis foundations
  13. The sector context, and the read-acrossEquity analysis foundations
  14. The multiple: what the market pays for earningsEquity analysis foundations
  15. The equity calendarEquity analysis foundations
  16. Technical structure on liquid namesEquity analysis foundations
  17. The watchlist at working depthEquity analysis foundations
  18. Building an equity readEquity analysis foundations
  19. What an equity strategy actually isBuilding an equity strategy
  20. The universe is part of the rule: screening as constructionBuilding an equity strategy
  21. Survivorship bias: the list you see is the winnersBuilding an equity strategy
  22. From screen to setup, without peekingBuilding an equity strategy
  23. Expectancy per setup, across a universeBuilding an equity strategy
  24. The bill in the test, equity editionBuilding an equity strategy
  25. Sample size, when the firings clusterBuilding an equity strategy
  26. Backtesting an equity rule without fooling yourselfBuilding an equity strategy
  27. Deciding whether an equity rule is worth tradingBuilding an equity strategy

Futures

  1. Risk per trade, when leverage is the structureManaging futures risk
  2. Sizing in whole contracts, when the increment is chunkyManaging futures risk
  3. The stop, in points and on the gridManaging futures risk
  4. Margin headroom as a risk number in its own rightManaging futures risk
  5. The overnight decision on a daily-settled bookManaging futures risk
  6. Event minutes, at structural leverageManaging futures risk
  7. One underlying, many contracts: correlation on the boardManaging futures risk
  8. The forced ladder: calls, liquidation and limit daysManaging futures risk
  9. The futures risk plan on one pageManaging futures risk
  10. What futures analysis is: the underlying's, routedFutures analysis foundations
  11. The routing tableFutures analysis foundations
  12. Open interest as analysis, not just readingFutures analysis foundations
  13. The curve as the futures layer's own readFutures analysis foundations
  14. The basis as a gaugeFutures analysis foundations
  15. The COT, across every familyFutures analysis foundations
  16. The calendar, merged: the underlying's plus the contract'sFutures analysis foundations
  17. Technical structure on the boardFutures analysis foundations
  18. Building a futures readFutures analysis foundations
  19. The roll, in full: windows, crowds and craftFutures specialist topics
  20. Term structure across the familiesFutures specialist topics
  21. Calendar spreads: trading the tilt, described properlyFutures specialist topics
  22. The basis, properly: fair value in fullFutures specialist topics
  23. Convergence, and expiry mechanics in fullFutures specialist topics
  24. Limit machinery, and the microstructure of the bookFutures specialist topics
  25. When the curve IS a forecast: the rate-futures exceptionFutures specialist topics
  26. The cash-futures ecosystemFutures specialist topics
  27. Everything the track deferredFutures specialist topics

FX

  1. What a chart actually showsReading the FX market
  2. Candles, bars and linesReading the FX market
  3. Timeframes, and what changing one changesReading the FX market
  4. Reading a single candleReading the FX market
  5. Majors, crosses and exoticsReading the FX market
  6. Volume in FX, and why every platform's differsReading the FX market
  7. Reading the spread as an instrumentReading the FX market
  8. The economic calendarReading the FX market
  9. Why your charts rhymeReading the FX market
  10. Why every trade starts underwaterWhat trading FX costs
  11. Pip value, in your currencyWhat trading FX costs
  12. What the spread actually costsWhat trading FX costs
  13. Commission models: raw versus all-inWhat trading FX costs
  14. Slippage: the price you clicked is not the price you gotWhat trading FX costs
  15. Swap and rollover, properlyWhat trading FX costs
  16. Margin and leverage: the same number twiceWhat trading FX costs
  17. Margin call and stop-outWhat trading FX costs
  18. The all-in cost of a round tripWhat trading FX costs
  19. Risk per trade: the number you choose firstManaging FX risk
  20. Position sizing: from risk to lotsManaging FX risk
  21. Where the stop goesManaging FX risk
  22. Risk to reward, honestlyManaging FX risk
  23. The correlated-exposure trapManaging FX risk
  24. Drawdown arithmeticManaging FX risk
  25. Risk of ruinManaging FX risk
  26. When your stop is not your riskManaging FX risk
  27. The risk plan on one pageManaging FX risk
  28. What a strategy actually isBuilding an FX strategy
  29. From observation to ruleBuilding an FX strategy
  30. Entries are the least important partBuilding an FX strategy
  31. Exits: the decision you make twiceBuilding an FX strategy
  32. Expectancy: what a strategy is worth per tradeBuilding an FX strategy
  33. Sample size, and why your results mean less than you thinkBuilding an FX strategy
  34. Backtesting without fooling yourselfBuilding an FX strategy
  35. Overfitting, and how to recognise it in your own workBuilding an FX strategy
  36. Deciding whether a strategy is worth tradingBuilding an FX strategy

Indices

  1. The wrapper decides the costWhat trading indices costs
  2. What an index spread actually costsWhat trading indices costs
  3. Overnight financing on a cash index positionWhat trading indices costs
  4. Dividends, and why your position moves at the ex-dateWhat trading indices costs
  5. The future has no nightly charge, because it is in the priceWhat trading indices costs
  6. Commission, exchange fees, and what is bundledWhat trading indices costs
  7. Slippage at the open, the close, and the fixWhat trading indices costs
  8. The crossover: when a wider spread beats nightly financingWhat trading indices costs
  9. The all-in cost of one index tradeWhat trading indices costs
  10. Risk per trade, in money before pointsManaging index risk
  11. Sizing: from risk to contractsManaging index risk
  12. Where the stop goes on an indexManaging index risk
  13. The gap your stop cannot coverManaging index risk
  14. Sizing for the gap, not the stopManaging index risk
  15. Leverage, and why the open is a different marketManaging index risk
  16. Three index positions are usually one exposureManaging index risk
  17. Margin, and the stop-out you did not chooseManaging index risk
  18. The index risk plan on one pageManaging index risk

Options

  1. An option is a right, not an obligationHow options markets work
  2. Calls and putsHow options markets work
  3. The premium: what you pay and what you sellHow options markets work
  4. Intrinsic and time valueHow options markets work
  5. Time decay: the option's clockHow options markets work
  6. Volatility and the premiumHow options markets work
  7. Expiry, exercise and assignmentHow options markets work
  8. Moneyness: in, at and out of the moneyHow options markets work
  9. The breakeven that anchors everythingHow options markets work
  10. The option chainReading options markets
  11. The bid-ask realityReading options markets
  12. Open interest and volumeReading options markets
  13. The payoff diagram: reading the shapeReading options markets
  14. Reading implied volatilityReading options markets
  15. The term structure of expected movementReading options markets
  16. Delta as probability shorthandReading options markets
  17. Liquidity, and the underlying beneathReading options markets
  18. What the options market pricesReading options markets
  19. Defined and undefined riskManaging options risk
  20. Sizing by maximum lossManaging options risk
  21. The buyer's limited-risk trapManaging options risk
  22. The seller's disciplineManaging options risk
  23. Assignment as a risk eventManaging options risk
  24. The Greeks as a risk dashboardManaging options risk
  25. Portfolio Greeks and hidden correlationManaging options risk
  26. The event risk options concentrateManaging options risk
  27. The options risk plan on one pageManaging options risk