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Learn, Practise, Trade Better

The complete UK forex learning library

Twenty-one 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 broker inside each guide to test the tactic on a demo account the same day you read the theory.

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Best Broker for Learners
1IG
4.9/5
IG logo

The 50-year benchmark every UK broker is measured against.

Min Deposit
£0
Min Spread
0.6 pips
Regulation
FCA #195355
Since
1974
Pros
  • FCA authorised since 1974, LSE-listed (FTSE 250)
  • 17,000+ markets including 90+ FX pairs
  • Award-winning IG Academy education library
Cons
  • Standard forex spreads slightly wider than raw-spread rivals
  • Overnight financing on CFDs above industry average
  • No cTrader or TradingView integration
IG WebMT4ProRealTimeL2 DealerFull IG reviewCompare with rivals
TRADE NOWREAD FULL REVIEW

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

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.

Forex Basics for UK Traders

Currency pairs, pips, lots, margin and why the London session dominates global FX.

Read guide Apply on IG

How to Choose a Broker

A practical checklist for selecting an FCA-authorised broker without being distracted by marketing claims.

Read guide Apply on IG

Verifying an FCA Broker

Step-by-step: cross-checking a broker's FRN on the FCA Register in under 60 seconds.

Read guide Apply on IG

Your First Trading Plan

The written plan our desk recommends before any UK trader funds a live CFD or spread-betting account.

Read guide Apply on IG

Opening Your First Account

KYC, funding, base currency, platform choice and the first withdrawal test every beginner should run.

Read guide Apply on IG

Demo vs Live Trading

Where demo accounts help, where they mislead, and when to switch to tiny live position sizes.

Read guide Apply on IG
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.

Read guide Apply on IG

Risk Management

Stops, maximum drawdown, correlation and the rules that keep retail accounts alive.

Read guide Apply on IG

Reading the Economic Calendar

Which UK, US and EU data releases actually move GBP, EUR and USD pairs.

Read guide Apply on IG
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.

Read guide Apply on IG

Scalping Rulebook

Execution, spread, broker permission and order-management rules for sub-minute strategies.

Read guide Apply on IG

Swing Trading Playbook

How UK traders can hold multi-day FX positions while controlling financing and event risk.

Read guide Apply on IG
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.

Read guide Apply on IG

UK Trading Tax Explained

The practical difference between spread betting, CFDs, share dealing and professional activity.

Read guide Apply on IG

FSCS Protection

What FSCS covers, what it does not, and why offshore brokers cannot offer it.

Read guide Apply on IG

Overnight Financing

How swap rates are calculated and why they matter for multi-day positions.

Read guide Apply on IG

Professional Classification

Eligibility, higher leverage, lost protections and the questions to ask before opting up.

Read guide Apply on IG
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.

Read guide Apply on IG

MetaTrader EAs Explained

How expert advisors work, what to backtest, and which broker terms matter before automation.

Read guide Apply on IG

Backtesting Fundamentals

Data quality, spread assumptions, execution costs and why most profitable backtests fail live.

Read guide Apply on IG

VPS for Algo Traders

When a VPS is worth paying for and how latency changes automated strategy performance.

Read guide Apply on IG
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.

All FCA brokers Compare side by side How we test
Sponsored, FCA-authorised
2CMC Markets
4.8
CMC Markets logo
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.

Start tradingRead review
5Capital.com
4.7
Capital.com logo
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.

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9City Index
4.6
City Index logo
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.

Start tradingRead review