Basic Concepts of Forex
An FX Trade Example
If you think that the Euro will rise relative to the U.S. Dollar you would Ask one lot of the EUR/USD currency pair.
The EUR/USD is trading at 1.2553 when you Ask it.
The EUR/USD is trading at 1.2674 when you Bid it.
You bought at 1.2553 and sold at 1.2674 for a profit of .0121 or 121 pips.
Each pip is worth $10 in the 100K account.
121 pips x $10 = $1,210 profit
In FX, you also have the opportunity to short (Bid first) a currency pair if you think it will fall in price.
If you think that the Euro will fall relative to the U.S. Dollar you would Bid one lot of the EUR/USD currency pair.
The EUR/USD is trading at 1.2659 when you Bid it.
The EUR/USD is trading at 1.2523 when you Ask it.
You bought at 1.2523 and sold at 1.2659 for a profit of .0136 or 136 pips.
Each pip is worth $10 in a 100K account.
136 pips x $10 = $1,360 profit
While these are profitable examples, remember that ending up on the wrong side of a trade can cost you a lot of money.