Forex Beginner Cheat Sheet

Order Types

Order	What it does
Market	Execute immediately at current price
Limit (Buy)	Buy when price dips to your level (below market)
Limit (Sell)	Sell when price rises to your level (above market)
Stop Loss	Close position when price hits level (limits loss)
Take Profit	Close position when price hits target (locks in gain)
Stop-Limit	Triggers at stop price, then executes as limit

Pip Value Formula

For most pairs (4 decimal places): 1 pip = 0.0001

For JPY pairs: 1 pip = 0.01

Pip value ≈ (Pip value per standard lot) × Lot size

Standard lot EUR/USD: ~$10 per pip | Mini (0.1): ~$1 | Micro (0.01): ~$0.10

Lot Sizes

Lot type	Units	Notation
Standard	100,000	1.0
Mini	10,000	0.1
Micro	1,000	0.01

Margin Jargon

• Margin – Collateral your broker holds for a leveraged position
• Leverage – Ratio of position size to margin (e.g. 100:1)
• Margin requirement – Minimum margin needed to open/hold a position
• Margin call – When equity falls below required margin; broker may close positions
• Free margin – Equity minus margin used; available for new trades

Margin = Position size ÷ Leverage

Trading Sessions (UTC)

Session	Approx. times
Sydney	22:00 – 07:00
Tokyo	00:00 – 09:00
London	08:00 – 17:00
New York	13:00 – 22:00

Best liquidity: London–NY overlap (13:00–17:00 UTC)