Learn Algo Trading Step by Step
A 12-week beginner path: market mechanics, strategy rules, backtesting, Python or no-code platforms, paper trading, broker APIs and SEBI rules.
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Chapter 1: What Is Algo Trading & How It Works
What an algorithm is, alert-based vs semi vs fully automated systems, and what to learn before starting
beginner - 2
Week 1: Understand How Markets and Orders Work
Order types, spreads, liquidity, slippage, margins and the journey of an order
beginner - 3
Week 2: Risk Management and Position Sizing
Risk per trade, stop-loss placement, drawdown and calculating quantity from risk
beginner - 4
Week 3: Select One Simple Trading Idea
Choosing a beginner-friendly, measurable strategy and studying its historical behaviour
beginner - 5
Week 4: Convert the Idea Into Exact Rules
Documenting instrument, timeframe, entries, exits, sizing and limits so the strategy is reproducible
beginner - 6
Week 5: Understand Market Data
OHLC candles, adjusted prices, rollovers, timestamps and why data quality decides backtest quality
intermediate - 7
Week 6: Build Your First Backtest
Applying strategy rules to history with realistic costs, trade by trade
intermediate - 8
Week 7: Evaluate the Backtest
Net profit, drawdown, win rate, profit factor, expectancy and sample size
intermediate - 9
Week 8: Test for Robustness and Common Errors
Overfitting, look-ahead bias, survivorship bias, data mining and practical robustness checks
intermediate - 10
Week 9: No-Code Automation or Basic Python
Choosing a build route and implementing your strategy on a platform or in code
intermediate - 11
Week 10: Paper Trade Using Live Market Data
Running the algorithm on live data with virtual capital and journaling every discrepancy
advanced - 12
Week 11: Broker APIs, Safety Controls & SEBI Rules
How signals become orders, essential safety controls and the Indian regulatory framework
advanced - 13
Week 12: Final Review and Controlled Live Trial
Strategy, technology and live-trading readiness checklists before any real deployment
advanced - 14
Chapter 14: Platforms, First Project & What to Learn Next
Indian algo platforms compared, a structured first project and the post-plan learning path
advanced