Free course · for complete beginners
The Paper Route
Learn to day trade on paper before you risk a dollar.
Twelve short lessons: set up TradingView for free, pick futures or stocks, build watchlists and find the strongest stocks, write a one-page plan, log 30 sessions on paper and read your own numbers.
- Lessons
- About 45 minutes of reading
- Free, no signup
- Only tool: free TradingView
What you'll walk away with
A free chart, set up right
TradingView with one clean chart, for MNQ futures or the stocks you trade, with your key levels marked.
A watchlist that finds the movers
Four sections, a simple screener and a relative strength check, so you know what to watch every morning.
A one-page trading plan
Your market, time window, setup, stop, size and daily loss limit, written before session one.
30 sessions and your real numbers
Every trade logged in points, then how often you followed the plan, your expectancy and your worst stretch.
How it works
- Open a free TradingView accountThe chart and paper trading account you'll use for the whole course. Get TradingView free (affiliate link)
- Learn, then trade 30 sessions on paperOne short lesson at a time, then real practice on a real chart, with pretend money.
The lessons
- Why Paper FirstWhy the first 30 sessions should be on paper, what paper trading can and can't teach you, and what you'll have at the end of the route. Open
- Set Up TradingView (Free)Open a free TradingView account, what the free plan includes, and the honest limits for futures traders, like delayed CME data. Open
- Futures or Stocks: Pick Your MarketYou can run the route on futures like MNQ or on US stocks. What is different, what each looks like on the free TradingView plan, and how to pick one. Open
- Build a Clean ChartSet up one clean chart for MNQ futures or the stocks you trade: the symbol, the timeframe, your time zone and the levels worth marking. No indicators needed. Open
- Build Your WatchlistsSet up one TradingView watchlist with four sections: the market, your core names, what is in play today and what is strongest. What to check on each name before the open. Open
- Find Stocks in Play with the ScreenerUse the free TradingView stock screener to find the few stocks moving more than usual today. A simple beginner screen, how to read it, and what to skip. Open
- Relative Strength: Trade the StrongestRelative strength compares a stock to the market. How to see it on free TradingView with the watchlist, the Compare tool and a ratio chart, and what to look for during the session. Open
- Connect Paper Trading and Place Your First OrderConnect TradingView's paper trading account, set a realistic balance and commission, and place your first bracket order with a stop and a target. Open
- Write Your One-Page PlanBefore session one, write down your market, time window, setup, stop, size and daily loss limit. If you can't follow it with a racing heart, it's too complicated. Open
- Log Every Session in PointsThe log is the whole point of the route. What to record for every trade, why points beat dollars, and the one question to answer after each session. Open
- Practice After Hours with Bar ReplayBar Replay plays a past day forward candle by candle, so you can rehearse your setup when the market is closed. What's free, what's paid, and how to use it. Open
- Day 30: Read Your NumbersAfter 30 sessions, three numbers tell you what to do next: how often you followed the plan, your expectancy, and your worst stretch. Open
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. No signup, no email, nothing to buy. Every lesson is open.
Do I need any money to start?
No. You trade on paper: a real chart with pretend money. The point is to get evidence before a single dollar is at risk.
Do I need a paid TradingView plan?
No. The free plan includes charts and a paper trading account. US stock quotes come in real time from a Cboe feed. One honest limit: futures data like NQ and MNQ is delayed about 10 minutes on the free plan. Lesson 2 explains when an upgrade is worth it, and when it isn't.
Is it only for futures?
No. I trade MNQ futures, but lessons 3 to 7 cover stocks too: picking your market, building watchlists, finding stocks in play with the screener and spotting relative strength.
How long does it take?
The 12 lessons take about 45 minutes to read. The route itself is 30 trading sessions on paper, at your own pace.
I already trade. Is this for me?
If you're not sure your setup actually works, yes. Thirty logged sessions on paper will tell you more than another year of guessing.
Education only, not advice. Trading carries a substantial risk of loss and most people who day trade lose money. TradingView links are affiliate links. Full disclosures.