Trading from a phone
What you learn in 3 minutesA phone trading app can place the same orders as a desktop one, but it shows far less of the chart at once. On a six-inch screen you see perhaps the last few hours of price, so you react to the last candle instead of the last week. That changes decisions, and it changes what a move is worth in pesos: one pip on one standard lot of EUR/USD is 10 units of the quote currency, which at around 1.0850 is about ₱10, and that number is the same whether you tap on a phone or click on a desktop.
What survives on a 6-inch screen: 20 pips on 0.10 lots
| Step | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Instrument and price | EUR/USD around 1.0850 | the quote used in this lesson |
| One pip on one standard lot | 10 units of the quote currency | 100,000 x 0.0001 |
| One pip on 0.10 lots | 1 unit of the quote currency | 10 x 0.10 |
| One pip on 0.10 lots in pesos | about ₱1 | 1 unit converted at the current rate, which moves |
| 20 pips on 0.10 lots in pesos | about ₱20 | 1 x 20 |
| Visible price range on the phone | the last few hours | schematic; the exact range depends on the app and the zoom level |
| Visible price range on the desktop | several weeks | schematic; the exact range depends on the platform and the zoom level |
The broker may round the conversion, charge a spread on entry and exit, and add commission or swap, so the amount that reaches the account can differ from the figures above.
The mistake people make here
The common mistake is to treat the phone chart as a smaller version of the desktop chart. It is not smaller; it is shorter. The same EUR/USD move that looks like a full screen on a phone can be a single candle on a desktop, so a stop placed from the phone may sit inside noise that the desktop view would have shown as normal. Before placing an order, pinch out to the widest range the app allows, or check the same pair on a larger screen, and set the stop from that wider view rather than from the last hour.Check yourself
EUR/USD is around 1.0850. You trade 0.10 lots and the price moves 20 pips in your favour. What is the gross amount in pesos, before costs?
One pip on one standard lot is 10 units of the quote currency, so one pip on 0.10 lots is 1 unit. At the current rate that is about ₱1. 20 pips x ₱1 = about ₱20.
The same 20-pip move happens on 1.00 standard lot instead of 0.10 lots. What is the gross amount in pesos?
One pip on 1.00 standard lot is 10 units of the quote currency, about ₱10. 20 pips x ₱10 = about ₱200.
Your phone chart shows only the last few hours. Name one thing you can do before deciding on a stop.
Zoom out to the widest range the app allows, or open the same pair on a larger screen, and set the stop from that wider view.
In the Philippines
- Regulator
- SEC Philippines
- Money
- peso, written ₱ (PHP)
- Common funding methods
- GCash and bank transfer
- Instrument in this lesson
- EUR/USD around 1.0850
- Pip value basis
- one pip on one standard lot of EUR/USD is 10 units of the quote currency, converted at the current rate