Lesson 14 of 14 · 2 min
How to start, step by step
The exact setup order — from choosing a market to your first simulated trade — with nothing you don't need.
Here's the whole setup, in order. Tick them off.
Setup checklist
- Pick one market — e.g. index futures (MES or MNQ).
- Pick one platform with simulation, volume profile and VWAP (see Software compared).
- Open a simulation account — free on most platforms.
- Set up one clean chart — your session, volume, VWAP and prior day's high, low and value.
- Write your rules — risk per trade, daily loss limit, trading window, max trades.
- Start a journal — a spreadsheet is enough.
- Follow the free path — Trading Basics, then Risk & Mindset.
- Do the first 30 days — watch, then simulate, then review.
- Measure — after a batch of trades, check your EV and rule-following.
- Only then decide: prop firm evaluation or a small live account.
What you don't need yet
Paid indicators, signal groups, five monitors, or a big account. A chart, a plan, a journal and patience.
Common first-month mistakes
- Going live in week one.
- Trading several markets at once.
- Skipping the journal.
- Changing strategy after every losing day.
Where to go next
Continue with Trading Basics — how markets work, candles, structure, volume and contracts — then Risk & Mindset, where the first-30-days plan lives.
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