Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Free Ebook Four principles for trading in the zone Insights from 15 top traders

Demo trading checklist

Keep your finger on the pulse with our trading to-do list, including creating a watchlist and managing your risk.

Finding an instrument

Use the search and filter functions in the product library to find the instruments you want to trade.

The diagram may help you understand some of the annotations below.

Type in the name of the product you want to search for
Filter by cash or forward products
Filter products by type, region, price performance and volatility

Open a chart

Find the product you want a chart for in the product library
Select (
Select chart from the dropdown menu that appears

Place a trade

Choose any buy or sell price to launch an order ticket
Check the buy and sell prices and the spread between them
Decide whether you wish to buy or sell the instrument
Choose the buy or sell price to switch between a buy or sell order
Enter the pounds per point you want to buy or sell
Choose the type of order you'd like to place
Confirm or cancel your bet

Close a trade

Open your positions window
Close an open position by clicking on the (X) next to the position details

Tip: you can also close a position by placing an opposite trade, unless you have disabled 'Account Netting', but you may find the way described above easier.

Use a watchlist

Create watchlists containing your favourite products for easy access when you need them.

Create a new watchlist using the menu, then add products using their dropdown menus, or simply drag and drop a product into the watchlist module.

Tip: watchlists are a great way to keep track of price movements on the instruments you're monitoring, as well as giving you easy access to order tickets and charts.

Set a stop order

Stop-loss orders allow you to specify a price at which a position will be closed out by the platform if the market moves against you.

Tip: stop-loss orders are usually used to close out existing positions. They help to reduce your risk and protect your capital. You can also use stop orders to open a new position. Alternatively, for a small premium, our guaranteed stop-loss orders give you 100% certainty that your stop loss will be executed at the exact price you want, regardless of market volatility or gapping.