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The 3 Concepts Every Beginner Trader Needs First (Free Guide)

Key takeaways

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The vocabulary everything else is built on

Learn these three concepts first and every strategy you meet afterwards, including the opening range strategy, will make sense faster. Each image is taken straight from the video.

Concept 1: Swing points

Three candles where the middle candle is higher than the candle on its left and its right, marked as a swing high
Middle candle higher than both neighbours: a swing high.

When the middle candle is higher than the candle on its left and the candle on its right, that is a swing high. It is a point where buyers ran out of push.

Three candles where the middle candle is lower than both neighbours, marked as a swing low
Flip it around: middle candle lower than both neighbours is a swing low.

Flip the picture and you have a swing low. These pivots are the raw material for everything that follows.

Concept 2: Market structure

A falling chart with lower highs and lower lows labelled LH and LL, tagged bearish
Lower highs and lower lows: a bearish market.

Connect the swings and the chart starts speaking. Lower highs and lower lows mean sellers are in charge: a bearish market.

A rising chart with higher highs and higher lows labelled HH and HL, tagged bullish
Higher highs and higher lows: a bullish market. Simple, but powerful.

Higher highs and higher lows mean buyers are in charge: a bullish market. Structure is your permission slip. It tells you which direction you should even be considering before you look for an entry.

Concept 3: Fair value gaps

An expansive middle candle leaving a gap between the candles either side, with the gap zone shaded and an entry marked
The expansive candle leaves a gap either side. That zone is where entries live.

When an expansive candle leaves a gap between the wick before it and the wick after it, that empty zone is a fair value gap. Price often returns to it before continuing, which makes it an entry zone rather than a chase.

Where to go next

That is the foundation. See all three concepts working together in the opening range strategy, practise spotting them on the free entry trainer, and if you want the full ground-up path, the free beginner course covers candles, risk and structure in 20 short lessons.

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Frequently asked questions

What should a complete beginner learn first in trading?
Three things, in order: swing points (how highs and lows are defined), market structure (how those swings describe a trend), and fair value gaps (how force shows up on a chart). Almost every strategy you will ever meet is built from these three pieces.
What is a swing high and a swing low?
A swing high is a candle whose high is above the candle on its left and the candle on its right. Flip it over and you have a swing low: a candle whose low is below both neighbours. They are the pivots the market turns on.
What is market structure?
The pattern the swings make. Higher highs and higher lows mean a bullish market; lower highs and lower lows mean a bearish one. Read the swings and you always know which side of the market you should even be considering.
How do beginners use fair value gaps?
As an entry zone. When an expansive candle leaves a gap between its neighbours' wicks, price often returns to that zone before continuing. Combined with structure, it tells you where to look for an entry instead of chasing.
Do I need money to start learning this?
No. A free Deriv demo account comes with $10,000 in virtual funds, and every concept in this guide is visible on any chart. Learn the vocabulary on the demo first; the market will still be there when you are ready.
Written by Tony: AA Global FX
Tony runs a live trading desk on Deriv synthetic indices and index CFDs and has published 116+ free trading tutorials on YouTube since 2022. About · YouTube
Last updated: 2026-07-17

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