Lesson 3 of 14 · Free
Brokers, order types and costs
How to choose a broker, the order types you must know, and the hidden costs that eat profits.
Choosing a broker
- Regulation: in the EU look for BaFin, CySEC or another EU regulator. Unregulated offshore brokers are a red flag.
- Costs: spreads, commissions, overnight fees. Compare them on the exact instrument you plan to trade.
- Platform: you need good charts, fast order entry and a demo account.
- Negative balance protection: required in the EU for retail clients — you can't lose more than your deposit.
Order types
- Market order: buy/sell immediately at the current price. Fast, but you may get a slightly worse price (slippage).
- Limit order: buy/sell only at your price or better. You control the price but may not get filled.
- Stop order (stop-loss): becomes a market order when price reaches your level. This is how you cap your loss. Every trade needs one.
- Take-profit: a limit order that closes your trade at your target.
- Bracket / OCO: entry + stop + target placed together. Ideal: your exits are set before emotions arrive.
The costs nobody talks about
If you pay a €1 spread on a €100 stock and trade 200 times a year, that's 2% of your capital gone before any profit. Overtrading is expensive. Fewer, better trades is the goal.
LeverageLeverage multiplies both gains and losses. A 30:1 leveraged position moves your account 30× faster. We'll show you in Lesson 6 how to size positions so leverage never matters.
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