Forex Basics for UK Traders
Currency pairs, pips, lots, margin and why the London session dominates global FX.
Learn, Practise, Trade Better
The complete UK forex learning library
Twenty-four free, jargon-light guides written by the Amazing Reviews editorial desk in Canary Wharf. Every guide is grounded in current FCA rules, refreshed as regulation evolves, and paired with a linked broker so you can move from theory to a live demo-account setup in a single sitting.
The library is organised into five categories below: fundamentals, risk, platforms, UK tax and regulation, and tools and automation. Start where you are, work forward in order, and use the linked brokers, both IG and Capital.com run some of the most comprehensive UK-focused academies we have tested, to practise the tactic on a demo account the same day you read the theory.
What's on this page
How to work through the Amazing Reviews learning library
A trading library is only useful if you finish it. Most beginners read half a dozen articles, feel confident, open a live account and lose the first deposit before the theory has had time to compound into instinct. The library on this page is deliberately structured to avoid that. Twenty-one guides, five categories, and a sensible reading order that moves you from currency-pair basics through position sizing, platform choice, UK tax treatment and, only at the end, automation and expert advisors.
Every guide is between fifteen and thirty minutes of focused reading and pairs with a broker demo exercise you can complete the same day. The idea is to spend as much time in front of a live platform as in front of the guide. If you have read three consecutive guides without opening a chart, close this page, open your demo account, and apply the last lesson you read before starting a new one. Comprehension without practice is entertainment, not education.
Nothing in the library is a personal recommendation to trade. Between 69% and 82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs and spread bets. The purpose of these guides is to make you a better-informed reader of your own broker's platform, execution and pricing. Read them, cross-check the tactics against our news desk and against the FCA Register, and commit real capital only when the plan is written down and the position sizing is small enough that a full loss is genuinely survivable.
Start Here, The Fundamentals
Start Here, The Fundamentals
Six guides that teach a complete beginner exactly what a UK retail forex trader needs to know before opening a live account. Currency mechanics, broker vetting, and the plan you write before you fund the first pound.
How to Choose a Broker
A practical checklist for selecting an FCA-authorised broker without being distracted by marketing claims.
Verifying an FCA Broker
Step-by-step: cross-checking a broker's FRN on the FCA Register in under 60 seconds.
Your First Trading Plan
The written plan our desk recommends before any UK trader funds a live CFD or spread-betting account.
Opening Your First Account
KYC, funding, base currency, platform choice and the first withdrawal test every beginner should run.
Demo vs Live Trading
Where demo accounts help, where they mislead, and when to switch to tiny live position sizes.
Risk, Sizing & Discipline
Risk, Sizing & Discipline
Every long-term retail trader survives on process, not prediction. This category collects the sizing, risk and discipline guides that keep an account alive through drawdowns.
Position Sizing
The 1% rule, fixed-fractional sizing and how to size trades under 1:30 retail leverage.
Risk Management
Stops, maximum drawdown, correlation and the rules that keep retail accounts alive.
Reading the Economic Calendar
Which UK, US and EU data releases actually move GBP, EUR and USD pairs.
Trading Psychology & Discipline
How to survive drawdowns, control revenge trading and build the daily routine every UK retail trader needs.
Platforms & Execution
Platforms & Execution
Deep-dives on the three platforms UK traders actually use, plus scalping and swing guides that connect the platform to the strategy. Every guide includes a linked broker card so you can act on the theory.
MT4 vs MT5 vs cTrader
Which platform suits your strategy, and which FCA brokers support each one properly.
Scalping Rulebook
Execution, spread, broker permission and order-management rules for sub-minute strategies.
Swing Trading Playbook
How UK traders can hold multi-day FX positions while controlling financing and event risk.
Day Trading Playbook
Session timing, order-flow reading and execution rules for UK traders active on the London and New York overlaps.
UK Tax, FSCS & Regulation
UK Tax, FSCS & Regulation
The rules that make UK retail trading different from anywhere else. Tax treatment of spread bets and CFDs, FSCS coverage limits, financing mechanics and the professional-classification decision.
Spread Betting vs CFDs
Tax treatment, product mechanics and when each account type makes sense.
UK Trading Tax Explained
The practical difference between spread betting, CFDs, share dealing and professional activity.
FSCS Protection
What FSCS covers, what it does not, and why offshore brokers cannot offer it.
Overnight Financing
How swap rates are calculated and why they matter for multi-day positions.
Professional Classification
Eligibility, higher leverage, lost protections and the questions to ask before opting up.
ISA & SIPP Trading Rules
What can and cannot be traded inside a Stocks & Shares ISA or SIPP, and how HMRC treats retail trading gains.
Tools, Automation & Algo Trading
Tools, Automation & Algo Trading
For traders ready to move past the retail defaults. Chart setup, expert advisors, backtesting rigour and when a VPS is worth paying for.
TradingView Setup
Connecting charts, alerts and broker execution without overcomplicating your workflow.
MetaTrader EAs Explained
How expert advisors work, what to backtest, and which broker terms matter before automation.
Backtesting Fundamentals
Data quality, spread assumptions, execution costs and why most profitable backtests fail live.
VPS for Algo Traders
When a VPS is worth paying for and how latency changes automated strategy performance.
UK Broker Directory
More on UK forex trading guides and learning library and FCA-regulated UK brokers
The Amazing Reviews desk covers every FCA-authorised broker available to UK retail traders, from spread-betting incumbents like IG and CMC Markets through to raw-spread ECN specialists such as Pepperstone and IC Markets. Every firm we list holds current FCA authorisation, offers FSCS protection up to £85,000 on eligible claims, and has been tested live by our editorial desk in Canary Wharf with real capital before we publish a verdict.
UK forex trading guides and learning library is one slice of that coverage. The pages below extend the analysis into related categories, side-by-side comparisons and the methodology behind our scoring. If you are opening your first live account, start with the beginner ranking; if you are moving broker to reduce costs, jump straight into the comparison tool and pull the tightest spreads by session.
None of the brokers on Amazing Reviews are offshore or unauthorised. If a firm cannot be located on the FCA Register we do not cover it, regardless of commercial incentive. Every ranking is decided before any commercial conversation opens, and we routinely publish critical verdicts on brokers we hold commercial arrangements with.
The directory itself is refreshed after every 60-day evaluation cycle. That cadence matters, spreads move, platforms change, and FCA permissions get amended. When a broker on our list changes materially between cycles, we publish an interim update rather than wait for the next full pass. That is the same standard we apply whether the firm has a commercial relationship with Amazing Reviews or not.
Sponsored, FCA-authorised
2CMC Markets
4.8
Award-winning Next Generation platform, built for chartists.
FCA #173730 · Min £0 · Spread 0.7 pips
CMC Markets offers 12,000+ markets on Next Generation and MT4 with FSCS protection up to £85,000. Best for: Discretionary traders who live on the chart.
5Capital.com
4.7
AI-guided trading with a beautifully designed mobile app.
FCA #793714 · Min £20 · Spread 0.6 pips
Capital.com offers 6,000+ markets on Capital.com Web and Capital.com Mobile with FSCS protection up to £85,000. Best for: Mobile-first traders and self-guided learners.
9City Index
4.6
London since 1983, powered by StoneX.
FCA #113942 · Min £100 · Spread 0.5 pips
City Index offers 13,500+ markets on Web Trader and MT4 with FSCS protection up to £85,000. Best for: UK spread betting and intermediate CFD traders.