Automated trading promises efficiency, but without a solid blueprint it becomes a fast track to losses. This book strips away the hype to reveal how algorithmic systems actually process market data, execute trades, and—most importantly—manage risk. You'll learn the core components of a trading bot: data feeds, signal generation, position sizing, and order execution, all explained without financial jargon. Through realistic examples, you'll see why most automated strategies fail and what separates robust designs from fragile ones. The book emphasizes that backtesting is not a crystal ball, leverage is a magnifier of losses, and past performance never guarantees future results. It guides you in building your own simple, low-risk experimental system while warning against the deluge of 'guaranteed-win' bots and passive income scams. You'll explore where machine learning can add value and where it introduces dangerous overfitting. Every chapter reinforces that the only consistent return in trading is the education you gain—your money is never safe, and you should never risk what you cannot afford to lose. This is a manual for critical thinking, not a get-rich-quick scheme. Part of The AI Trading Library.