Learning videos for new traders.
Watch beginner-friendly videos about trading bots, paper trading, indicators, risk settings, Alpaca setup, and bot performance.
Start here
New to trading bots? Begin with the Getting Started and Risk Management videos before creating your first paper trading bot.
All learning videos
Showing 12 videos.
What is a trading bot?
Understand what a trading bot is, how rule-based automation works, and why paper trading should come first.
What is paper trading?
Learn how paper trading lets you test strategies without using real money.
How Alpaca paper accounts work
A simple explanation of Alpaca paper accounts, account balance, buying power, and API keys.
How to create your first bot
Step-by-step walkthrough of choosing symbols, selecting indicators, setting allocation, and saving a bot.
EMA 20 and EMA 50 explained
Learn what EMA 20 and EMA 50 mean and how traders use them for trend confirmation.
VWAP explained for beginners
Understand VWAP and why it can help identify whether price is trading above or below average value.
How confirmation rules work
Understand 3 out of 5, 4 out of 5, and 5 out of 5 confirmation rules before the bot enters a trade.
Stop loss and take profit
Learn how stop loss and take profit settings help control risk and define exits before entering a trade.
What is slippage?
Understand why expected price and fill price can be different, especially during fast-moving markets.
How bot allocation works
Learn how bot allocation is calculated from one specific Alpaca paper account and split across symbols.
Understanding long and short trades
A simple explanation of long trades, short trades, entries, exits, and why beginners should test first.
Reading bot performance dashboard
Learn the difference between Alpaca account truth and bot strategy performance logs.
Recommended order for beginners
Understand paper trading
Complete this step before moving to the next part of the platform.
Learn basic indicators
Complete this step before moving to the next part of the platform.
Set risk limits
Complete this step before moving to the next part of the platform.
Create your first bot
Complete this step before moving to the next part of the platform.