THE CHART MECHANICSTools & Education
Course · futures

TCM Futures Education

A complete course on exchange-traded futures: who uses them, how contracts are specified, ticks and margin, daily settlement, execution, research, rolls, hedging, testing and risk.

  • 27 modules
  • 172-page PDF
  • 6 calculators
  • 162 knowledge-check questions
Module 10: tick size, tick value and point value
Syllabus

What's in the 27 modules

Eight parts, from what futures are for to a complete product research dossier. Contract figures were checked against CME Group in October 2026, and the last module is a glossary, formula sheet and list of primary sources.

Also available in the bundleFutures and Forex Education together for £400. See the bundle
FoundationsModules 01–03
  1. 01Start here: study futures responsibly
  2. 02Futures markets: purpose and participants
  3. 03Exchange, clearing and the contract lifecycle
Contracts and calendarsModules 04–07
  1. 04Contract specifications: the essential checklist
  2. 05Futures product families and their drivers
  3. 06Symbols, expiries and contract months
  4. 07Expiry, last trade date and delivery
Pricing and moneyModules 08–13
  1. 08Futures pricing, spot and basis
  2. 09Reading quotes, depth and volume basics
  3. 10Tick size, tick value and point value
  4. 11Mark-to-market and daily settlement
  5. 12Initial margin, maintenance margin and leverage
  6. 13Position sizing and hypothetical risk arithmetic
ExecutionModules 14–15
  1. 14Order types, fills and execution risk
  2. 15Sessions, liquidity, volatility and price limits
Research and chartsModules 16–19
  1. 16Fundamental research across futures sectors
  2. 17Charts, sessions, gaps and continuous contracts
  3. 18Technical analysis and volume context
  4. 19Calendar spreads, rolls and term structure
Hedging, testing and reviewModules 20–23
  1. 20Hedging, speculation and basis risk
  2. 21Backtesting, simulation and evidence quality
  3. 22Broker, clearing and account due diligence
  4. 23Trading psychology, journaling and review
Advanced context and riskModules 24–25
  1. 24Advanced context: curves, intermarket links and regime risk
  2. 25Risk framework and scenario analysis
Bringing it togetherModules 26–27
  1. 26Capstone: complete product research dossier
  2. 27Glossary, formula sheet and primary references
Try a module

A calculator from Module 10

Every calculator in the course works like this one: change the inputs and the working updates line by line.

Knowledge check

Three questions from Module 10

Each module ends with six questions like these. Every answer comes with the reason, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

Pick an answer to see how the knowledge checks work.

1. What is one minimum tick worth on one MES contract?

2. ES moves 6 points against a 3-contract position. What is the gross loss?

3. Corn rises 3 cents a bushel. What is that on one ZC contract?

Good for
  • Newcomers to futures who want to understand contracts before trading one
  • Forex and CFD traders moving to exchange-traded markets such as ES, NQ, CL and GC
  • Anyone using micro contracts who wants to size positions in ticks and dollars
Not for
  • Anyone looking for signals or a ready-made system
  • Anyone expecting a promise of profits. The course is clear that futures losses can exceed the margin you put up.