Learn how markets work, then practise without risk

These guides explain the ideas behind Fantasy Finance in plain language: what paper trading is, how short selling and leverage work, how options are priced, and what an ETF actually holds. Each one ends with a worked, numeric example rather than a wall of theory.

None of it requires an account. If you want to try the ideas rather than just read about them, a stock market game with friends is the practical next step — same explanations, played out with virtual money against people you know.

The guides

• —What is paper trading? — the idea of practising with fake money, and what it can and cannot teach you.
• —How to practice trading without money — the options, and how to make the practice actually useful.
• —How do stock market games work? — virtual cash, real prices, and what makes one fair.
• —What is short selling? — betting on a price falling, with a worked example and the real risks.
• —What is leverage in stocks? — multiplying a position's size, and why losses grow faster than gains.
• —How do options work for beginners? — calls, puts, strike, premium and expiry, explained from scratch.
• —What is an ETF? — a single fund built from many holdings, and why most people start there.