Learn the Foundations of Stocks and Options

Explore how support and resistance form the core of technical analysis and how price moves are driven by speculation and intra-day noise rather than fundamentals.

Discover how the present value of a stock equals what buyers are willing to pay, driven by sentiment, and how technical analysis uses price action to predict moves.

Explore how predictable market behavior shapes price action through support and resistance, trading channels, and trends, then learn to buy at support and sell at resistance within uptrends and downtrends.

Draw support and resistance quickly by starting with a line chart, marking highs and lows, and connecting turning points; confirm with candlesticks on a daily chart.

Learn to orient in motive wave charts by switching among line, bar, and candlestick views, zooming with plus/minus keys, and drawing lines with the crosshair tool and command-click.

Chart a stock from scratch in trade navigator, switching among candlesticks, ohlc bars, and line charts with cross hairs, b toggles, zoom keys, the horizontal line feature, and bollinger bands.

Draw lines to frame a stock chart into a clean support and resistance grid, then test it with intraday highs, candlesticks, and historical data.

Discover why technical charting reflects human behavior, learn to draw support and resistance, and practice with charting software and virtual trades to spot channel stocks.

Learn the basics of stock orders, including buy and sell orders, long and short strategies, and the flow of funds between cash and shares, illustrated with real trades.

Learn how selling stocks short works, including borrowing shares, taking a short position, paying interest, and buying to cover, with a Netflix example showing cash and equity flow.

Short selling means borrowing shares from a broker and selling them to profit from a price decline while returning the shares later; this liquidity supports a free market.

Place a short order by selling stock short, then close with a buy to cover. Cash increases, shares go negative, and profit or loss follows the price spread.

Choose a stock, analyze its chart with support and resistance to gauge direction, then apply the appropriate strategy: buy long if it rises, or sell short if it falls.

Explore a straightforward trade setup using clear resistance and support to guide bullish or bearish trades. The lesson covers ADM, Halliburton, and FedEx with entry triggers and targets.

Understand stop orders that protect capital by triggering a sell at a stop price, with long positions placed below support and bearish positions above resistance.

practice buying and selling stocks in a virtual account, place stop orders, and walk through a complete trade setup from filling the order form to executing the trade.

Explore advanced line drawing to identify support and resistance, channels, and trends, using pivot points and trader sentiment to set price targets with line charts and candlestick confirmation.

Draw lines on a line chart to build a complete trade setup, identifying turning points and key support and resistance, and confirm with candlestick analysis and intraday data.

Draw trend lines by turning horizontal support and resistance into diagonals, showing uptrends with higher highs and higher lows and downtrends with lower highs and lower lows, confirmed by candlesticks.

Identify the most recent and primary trends on a line chart, using the trend line tool to connect turning points, while avoiding clutter, with Amazon and Dow Jones examples.

Expand the trend chart by adding parallel range lines to define the swing range; the control line sets the trend angle, and old resistance becomes new support.

Learn how to draw trend lines and parallel trading lanes to form a diagonal grid, using primary angles, turning points, and candlesticks to reveal structured trend channels.

Explore fan lines as a tool for spotting accelerating and decelerating trends, turning old support into new resistance, and using prior angles to target prices in bull markets.

Learn to draw accelerating and decelerating fan lines on real stock charts, interpreting trend turns, support levels, and retracements using Alaska Airlines, American Express, and the Dow Jones.

Transform price action into a trading plan using pivot points for entries, targets, and stops. Use triggers above or below pivots to trade pivot to pivot amid daily volatility.

Set up a bearish trade with a trigger below 68.10 targeting 63.60, 60.10, and 54.40, noting gaps become support or resistance.

Learn to execute trades with trigger criteria or contingency orders, choosing between manual real-time entry or automated trading that uses stock, option, or time-based conditions to remove emotion.

Draw advanced trend lines, fan lines, and trading lanes to map price action with a support-resistance grid, then use pivot areas to set entries, targets, and stops.

Explore trend following in stocks and options using moving averages to smooth price action, comparing simple moving averages and exponential moving averages for short and long-term trends.

Discover how moving averages reveal trend direction, trigger entries via crossovers, and act as a secret weapon for stops and support-resistance within trends, while guiding short- and long-term use.

Understand how moving averages identify trends, time entries with crosses, and trail stops using 10-, 20-, or 50-period averages; assess trend strength with moving average angles and separation.

Develop a trend following system with moving averages as the foundation, using cross signals and angle to define entries, stops, and exits toward price targets.

Blend moving averages with line drawing and support and resistance to create a two-step confirmation trading system, outlining entry, targets, and exit rules.

Join a practical analysis blending moving averages with support, resistance, and grid to confirm trends, spot entries, and set targets, using Halliburton and Apple trades as real examples.

Use moving averages and the moving average system with support and resistance to trade trends. Set up your charts, review notes, and practice virtual trades toward your first trading plan.

Discover how to create and execute a trading plan with entry price, target, and stop, reduce emotional bias, and document trades in a journal to improve future trades.

Combine line analysis with moving averages to identify bullish, bearish, or no-trend conditions. Then determine direction, select a strategy, and log entry, target, and stop in the journal.

Execute stock and option trades using market orders and trigger conditions, set entry targets and stops, and manage bullish and bearish plans through broker orders.

Take action by setting up trade setups in your charting software, then practice virtual trades with contingency and trigger orders to reinforce plans from the last six classes.

Evaluate stock trading risk, explore insuring stock, and begin options trading, illustrated by a Hess long stock example, ROI calculations, and risk and reward insights.

Learn how selling stock short works, using triggers and targets to profit from a down move, while managing unlimited risk with stops and risk management.

Explore long and short trades, compare limited versus unlimited risk, and learn to manage risk with stops, targets, and prudent risk-reward planning.

Learn to lower stock risk by treating options as insurance, providing the right to buy or sell and offsetting losses for long and short positions.

Explore the four basic option trades—buying or selling calls and puts—and how they grant the right, not the obligation, to buy or sell a stock before a set date.

Understand how a call option gives the buyer the right to buy at a set price for a premium within a time frame, with the seller potentially obligated to sell.

Discover how a covered call lets you own stock while selling a call option to collect a premium, lower your cost basis, and generate recurring income.

Joe buys a call option on Goldman Sachs at $100 with a $10 premium, gaining leverage and stock control while the option’s value rises as the stock goes up.

Learn how a call option's premium, here $10, grows with stock price to an intrinsic value of $26, enabling a $16 per share profit or 160% return.

Learn how put options protect downside by giving the right to sell at a set price. See how buyers and sellers of calls and puts create four basic trades.

Practice virtual trading, apply stock option concepts, and discuss ideas on the Trade Smart University network to deepen understanding; then explore the ultimate dividend, call options, and option chain basics.

Explore the building blocks of stock options, including call and put rights, premiums, and buyer–seller dynamics, then learn the 100-share contract size and per-share pricing in the covered call.

Explore the option chain and its components: bid, ask, last, volume, open interest, strike price, and expiration for calls and puts.

Learn to read an option chain, calculate premiums, and trade calls and puts with spiders, using strike prices, August expiration, and bid and ask quotes.

Master the covered call, a safe option strategy that generates monthly income. Sell calls against owned stock to collect premium and be obligated to sell at the strike.

Explore the covered call structure, where buyers gain the right to buy while sellers are obligated to sell, and profits hinge on stock moves and option premium.

Write covered calls only in 100-share increments and determine how many contracts you can write from your stock holdings. Keep dividends, earn call premiums, and weigh downside risk versus cap.

Calculate profits on a covered call with the max profit formula: strike price minus stock purchase price plus option premium, and see two income sources: capital gains and option premium.

Use the covered call by selling near-term calls one to two strike prices above cost in sideways, bullish, or bear markets, with a 2–4 week window.

Master the foundations of stocks and options by applying trend trading, support and resistance, moving averages, and covered calls, then complete virtual trades—buy 100 shares and sell a covered call.