Arapov.Trade

Free Trading Course

A Message from the Author

Welcome. What you're about to access is the distilled knowledge of over a decade in the markets. I've been actively trading since 2013, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's this: most trading education is either outdated, overcomplicated, or designed to sell you something. To understand this topic more deeply, I recommend studying trading basics .

The course covers all key areas of trading theory essential for getting started. On the platform, you'll find over 150 articles, 70+ videos , and 3 original trading books available for free, covering both fundamental and advanced topics.

Want proof this works? Check out the public track record of a student who completed this program — currently ranked #1 on MQL5 by subscriber capital. This isn't theory — it's a battle-tested system.

Course Architecture

The material follows a logical progression what is necessary for starting trading . Each section builds on the previous one. Skip ahead at your own risk — without foundational understanding, advanced concepts become confusing rather than enlightening.

Articles deliver theoretical framework. Videos show practical application. Every section ends with key takeaways and next steps. The ultimate goal: mastering a trading system with positive expectancy. That's the only thing separating professionals from gamblers.

Foundation: What Trading Actually Is

Goal: Replace fantasy with reality about what it takes to succeed.

Most beginners arrive with dangerous expectations. Social media shows Lamborghinis and laptop lifestyles. Reality looks different: trading is a skill-based profession that demands time, capital, and emotional resilience. It's not a shortcut to wealth — it's a career.

What separates survivors from statistics:

  • A defined edge — specific conditions where probability favors you
  • A complete system — rules for entry, exit, and position sizing
  • Sufficient runway — time and money to survive the learning curve
  • Psychological stability — ability to follow rules when emotions scream otherwise

This section dismantles popular myths: the fantasy of quick riches, the danger of averaging down losers, the illusion of having "market intuition."

Reading Market Structure

Goal: Identify current market phase and trade in the right direction.

Technical analysis is how you decode what the market is telling you. Charts record the battle between buyers and sellers. Your job is to read that story and anticipate what happens next.

The Two Market States

Market phases: trend and balance

Markets exist in two conditions: trend (directional movement) or balance (sideways consolidation). Recognizing which state you're in determines your entire approach.

In trends, trade with momentum: buy pullbacks in uptrends, sell rallies in downtrends. In balance, trade the range: buy at support, sell at resistance.

Trend versus balance phases

Identifying Who Controls the Market

The Priority Change Level (PCL) is where you spot who's in charge. It's the origin point of an impulse move that broke previous structure. When price returns here, you're looking at a potential entry — if the controlling side still holds their positions, the move should continue.

Priority change level concept
Accumulation zones
Live chart example of PCL

Reversal Patterns

Trends don't last forever. Recognizing transition patterns lets you catch new moves early. Core principle: old resistance becomes new support, and vice versa.

Reversal pattern example 1
Reversal pattern example 2
Reversal pattern example 3

Measuring Trend Strength

Not all trends are created equal. Strong trends feature fast impulse waves and slow, shallow pullbacks. Weak trends show pullbacks that grow deeper and more aggressive than impulses.

Trend strength analysis

Simple rule: strong moves are fast moves. When price flies, conviction is high. When it crawls, energy is fading.

Volume Analysis: Seeing What Others Miss

Goal: Use volume to detect institutional activity invisible on price charts.

Volume analysis is like having X-ray vision. Price shows what happened. Volume shows how much force was behind it and who's likely responsible.

The Effort-vs-Result Principle

This is the foundation of Wyckoff methodology. The concept is straightforward: big volume should produce big movement. When you see high volume without corresponding price change, something's off. Someone is absorbing the pressure.

Vertical volume on chart
Effort vs result on Gold

Gold chart breakdown:

Zone 1: Massive volume on an up-bar, but price stalls. Effort without result. Translation: sellers absorbed all buying pressure. First sign of weakness.

Zone 2: Price attempts to push higher — fails. False breakout confirms: institutions aren't interested in higher prices.

Zone 3: New downtrend begins. Now we trade short only until we see opposite signals.

Wyckoff's key insight: "Weakness appears on up-bars, strength appears on down-bars." Professionals buy when the crowd sells and sell when the crowd buys.

Smart Money: The Institutional Playbook

Goal: Understand how big players engineer price moves and stop being their victim.

Smart Money isn't conspiracy theory — it's market mechanics. Banks, funds, and market makers have enough size to move price. They use this power to enter positions at optimal prices, often by triggering retail stop-losses first.

The Pullback Entry Method

The highest-probability entry comes after an impulse, on the pullback to the breakout zone. Logic: if the breakout was genuine, the big players who initiated it will defend their positions at that level.

Pullback entry patterns
Gold pullback entry example

Gold example: impulse wave on high volume breaks support. Then comes the pullback to breakout zone on declining volume. When selling resumes — that's your entry short.

More detailed examples in the trading system section.

Risk Management: The Survival Skill

Goal: Protect capital and maintain emotional control.

Risk management isn't about making money — it's about not losing it all during inevitable drawdowns. This is what keeps you in the game long enough to become profitable.

The Non-Negotiable Stop-Loss

Stop-loss placement

Stop-loss on every trade. No exceptions. No debates. One trade without a stop can destroy months of profits.

Position Sizing Formula

Example setup:

  • Account: $35,000
  • Risk per trade: 1%
  • Stop distance: 150 pips
  • Pip value: $10

Calculation: ($35,000 × 1%) / (150 × $10) = $350 / $1,500 = 0.23 lots

If stopped out, you lose $350 — exactly 1% of account. Math protects capital.

Emotional Traps

Fear and greed destroy more accounts than bad analysis. Fear makes you cut winners short and hold losers too long. Greed pushes you into oversized positions and rule violations.

The solution: trade the system, not your feelings. When rules are clear, there's no room for impulsive decisions.

The Math of Profitable Trading

Goal: Understand why the 1:3 ratio creates long-term profitability.

Three Pillars of Success

1. Stop-loss — always. Without it, you don't control risk.

2. Minimum 1:3 reward-to-risk. Risk 5 pips, target 15+.

3. Win rate isn't everything. Profit-to-loss ratio matters more.

10-Trade Example

Setup: 5-pip stop, 15-pip target (1:3). Results: 4 losses, 6 wins (60% win rate).

  • Total losses: 4 × 5 = 20 pips
  • Total profits: 6 × 15 = 90 pips
  • Net result: +70 pips

Even with just 40% winners, a 1:3 system stays profitable. That's why mathematics beats "gut feeling" every time.

Deliberate Practice

Goal: Transform knowledge into skill through structured practice.

Information without execution is worthless. Open a demo account with any broker and start applying the rules. Minimum 100 trades before going live.

Keep a trading journal: record entry reason, result, emotional state. Analyze mistakes. Track statistics: win rate, average win, average loss, expectancy.

Trading is a marathon, not a sprint. Victory goes to those who profit consistently over hundreds of trades, not those who got lucky once.

Final Thoughts

This list allows you to build a "roadmap" in mastering the profession of a trader and provides sufficient understanding of which direction to develop in. I also believe that these topics, when studied, provide a complete understanding of all the risks associated with trading, and allow everyone interested to make an informed decision about the need to study this profession and whether it is worth buying a course . If you are not familiar with the basics, start with trading book .

Trading changes you. It teaches discipline, patience, critical thinking. The path won't be easy, but the transformation is worth the effort.

Respectfully, course author — Igor Arapov.



Frequently Asked Questions

Can I really learn trading without paying for courses?

Absolutely. This course contains 130+ articles and 70 video lessons covering everything from basics to advanced Smart Money strategies. It's designed to give you a complete self-study trading without any paid upsells.

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