Lesson 15 Guided Demo Practice

Carry a simulated trade from research to reconciliation and demonstrate the same reasoning for a rejected trade.

Before each session

Confirm the account is demo or paper. Record starting equity, session and weekly thresholds, current positions, pending orders, platform time, scheduled events, and the instrument specification. Check readiness and connection. If any required input is missing, observe only.

Guided case A A qualifying long

Use the Tuesday signal from Lesson 11. Assume current equity is 2,000 USD, no existing position, all time and news filters pass, spread is 2 pips, size increment is 0.01 lots, and margin requirement is 5%.

Confirm the signal’s closed candle conditions.
Record entry ask 1.1010, stop bid 1.0988, and target bid 1.1054.
Calculate the 10 USD budget and 22 pip distance.
Include 7 USD commission per lot and 2 pips of slippage allowance: estimated risk is 247 USD per lot.
Round the 0.04049 lot ceiling down to 0.04 lots, or 4,000 EUR. Estimated initial risk is 9.88 USD.
Check notional of 4,404 USD and indicative margin of 220.20 USD, below the course’s 1,000 USD used margin ceiling at this equity.
Prepare the order, then verify actual filled units, fill price, stop, target, and status. In paper practice, explicitly assume the planned entry fill.

If target executes exactly, the price gain is 44 pips × 0.40 USD = 17.60 USD. Deduct 0.28 USD commission for net 17.32 USD, about +1.753R using the initial 9.88 USD denominator. If the stop executes exactly, the price loss is 22 × 0.40 = 8.80 USD. Including commission gives −9.08 USD, about −0.919R. These outcomes differ from +2R and −1R because the initial risk included an execution allowance and the price target excluded separate charges. If a gap instead produces a stop exit fill at 1.0982, the 28 pip loss plus commission is 11.48 USD, exceeding the planned 10 USD budget. Record the breach and actual fill. A sizing allowance and an ordinary stop cannot guarantee the realised loss.

Guided case B A short mechanics exercise

This separate paper case practises selling; it is not an entry allowed by the long only course strategy. Assume 2,000 GBP are sold at GBP/USD 1.2500 and repurchased at 1.2520. The price loss is 4 USD. At 7 USD round trip commission per standard lot, the 0.02 lot charge is 0.14 USD, making the net result −4.14 USD without other charges. Write why a higher exit price hurts this short position. Confirm that the repurchase closes the intended position under the platform’s netting or hedging mode instead of assuming an opposite order always closes it.

Guided case C A rejected trade

Assume a candidate has a 30 pip stop and a 1 USD loss budget, while the minimum EUR/USD size is 1,000 units. Its price risk alone is 3 USD. Record no trade because minimum size exceeds budget. Include the rejected signal in the journal. Do not shorten the required stop to force entry.

Your ten sessions

Observe at least ten sessions on separate dates. Use the same plan and version. Record every qualifying candidate, rejection, order, and exit, including sessions with no trade. Do not impose a minimum number of live market opportunities. If no qualifying demo trade occurs, complete the guided paper cases to demonstrate order mechanics and keep the no trade logs. You can complete the educational capstone without forcing a trade. Clearly distinguish paper cases from genuine forward demo observations.

Check your understanding

After the four lessons in this module, complete Module 4 knowledge check from the course overview. It contains the three questions from each lesson with feedback after submission. Keep written calculations in your workbook.

Glossary

Ask: Price at which the customer can buy the pair
Bid: Price at which the customer can sell the pair
Commission: A separate trading charge under the provider’s terms
Equity: Account value including open profit or loss and applicable adjustments
Gap: A jump between available prices that skips intermediate prices
Long: Exposure that benefits from a higher pair price before costs
Lot: A position volume convention; verify base units for the instrument
Margin: Collateral required to support a position
Notional: The underlying value of a position’s exposure
Pip: A conventional exchange rate movement unit
Short: Exposure that benefits from a lower pair price before costs
Slippage: Difference between a reference price and the actual execution fill
Spread: Ask minus bid