Guides for choosing and using trading software

Reviews tell you what a platform does. These guides cover the questions that come up once you start using one: what the order-flow views mean, why a backtest can mislead, and what live data will cost from Canada. Each is written and checked by the same desk that scores the platforms.

Order flow basics

The DOM ladder, liquidity heatmaps, footprint charts and the volume profile, explained in plain terms with a four-step way to start on a simulator.

Backtesting traps

Overfitting, look-ahead bias and four more mistakes that make a strategy test look better than it will trade, each with the check that exposes it.

Market data costs in Canada

Who sells real-time TSX data, what US and futures feeds add to the bill, and a quick way to budget before you subscribe.