What “trading” means
Trading means buying or selling an asset (a share, a listed fund, a cryptocurrency) to benefit from a price change over a short period: a few hours, a few days, a few weeks. Investing means holding for longer, betting on the underlying value. Both are valid, but trading requires more decisions, and so more chances to get it wrong.
Two words come up all the time: LONG means buying in order to sell higher, SHORT means short selling (selling an asset you do not own) in order to buy it back lower. The long and short guide explains them with examples.
Step 1: understand what you are trading
Before your first order, you need to know what the asset represents and what moves its price. Three starting points, depending on what interests you:
- The US stock market: what is the Nasdaq, then how to trade the Nasdaq 100.
- Index funds: what is an ETF, the simplest product for tracking an index, and Nasdaq 100 ETFs in a PEA (in French; the PEA is a French tax-advantaged share account).
- Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin and Solana (SOL), two very volatile assets that trade day and night.
To follow a price, you also need to know how to read a chart: see candlestick charts.
Step 2: measure your risk before you enter
A beginner asks “how much can I make?”. The right question is “how much am I willing to lose if I am wrong?”. It translates into three decisions, made before buying:
- where the scenario becomes wrong: that is the stop-loss (an order that closes the position automatically at a set price), and where to place it;
- what quantity to buy so that this loss stays within your budget: that is the position size;
- whether the target gain justifies this risk: that is the risk/reward ratio.
Fictitious example
- Practice capital: €10,000. Risk accepted per trade: 1%, i.e. €100.
- Planned entry: €50. Stop: €48. Distance: €2 per unit.
- Quantity: 100 ÷ 2 = 50 units, i.e. €2,500 committed. If the stop is hit, the planned loss is €100, before fees and before any execution gap.
Step 3: write a plan, then practise without real money
A trade is prepared in writing: what you observe, what would invalidate the idea, the size, the target and the time frame. That is the trading plan. You then carry it out in simulation (paper trading): the prices are real, the money is fictitious. The paper trading guide and the crypto trading simulator show how to get something out of it, and the trading journal how to review your decisions.
The most common mistakes at the start
- Entering without a stop, or moving the stop to avoid “taking” the loss.
- Increasing the size after a loss to “win it back”.
- Mistaking a one-off gain for a good method: a winning trade can come from luck.
- Trading during major announcements (inflation, employment, central banks) without knowing it: prices can jump.
- Switching to real money before having dozens of documented simulated trades.
What BULLSAGE Trader offers for learning
BULLSAGE brings these steps together in one place: the Academy (Beginner, Intermediate and Expert paths plus a Nasdaq specialisation, with quizzes), Paper Trading with €10,000 virtual on real prices, plain-language explanations next to every engine decision and a beginner mode that translates the jargon. Engine decisions are shown as “not validated”: they are exercises, not advice.
Trading carries a high risk of loss. No course guarantees a gain (see how to choose a free course); learning is first of all about making decisions while knowing your risks.
Get the trading plan kit (PDF)
The plan to fill in, the eight questions to ask before acting, the position size calculation and a journal template. You will also be told when the platform opens, on 1 January 2027.