How do I start trading stocks as a complete beginner?
Start by learning to read a chart and find key levels, then practice with a paper-trading simulator, and only move to real money with small size and a written risk rule such as risking no more than 1% of your account per trade.
Most beginners start in the wrong order: they open a brokerage account, buy something they heard about, and try to learn along the way. A safer order is learn, practice, then trade small.
Step 1 is chart basics. Learn what a candlestick shows (open, high, low, close), how to spot support and resistance zones where price keeps reacting, and how volume confirms a move. Our free Visual Foundations lessons cover these with short videos.
Step 2 is paper trading. Use a simulator to place practice trades with a written plan: entry, stop, target and position size. Track every trade in a journal so you can see which mistakes repeat.
Step 3 is small size. When you do use real money, keep each trade's maximum loss to around 1% of the account. This keeps a losing streak survivable while you keep learning.
Treat the first months as education, not income. Every example in our lessons is hypothetical, and trading always carries the risk of loss.
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Create a free account to practice in Paper Sim.