Free anti-scam forex education
The free forex course people should not have to pay thousands for
This is now a 80-lesson, 177+ hour free academy for learning the mechanics before risking money: FSCA broker checks, MetaTrader setup, chart types, templates, multi-timeframe analysis, strategy playbooks, order tickets, lot sizes, risk in rand, copy trading, Expert Advisors, MQL5 systems engineering, OrderCheck and retcode review, market book events, ONNX model research, backtesting, trade copiers, Python research, VPS monitoring, records, and scam filters. No signals. No guaranteed returns. No paid gatekeeping.
80
free lessons
17
course modules
177+
study hours
R0
course cost
Paid-course depth, free access
Every lesson now works like a marked workshop
The course is no longer just a syllabus. Each lesson asks readers to produce evidence, complete templates, study failure modes, and pass a rubric before moving forward.
Instructor workflow
Each lesson now includes the operating process an instructor would expect before marking the topic as understood.
Worked case study
Every module uses realistic South African forex scenarios, including scams, platform mistakes, execution problems, and bot failures.
Professional template
Lessons include practical worksheets for audits, risk ledgers, EA specs, copier event contracts, test protocols, and research notes.
Assessment rubric
Readers get a clear not-ready, course-pass, and strong-pass standard instead of vague motivation.
The academy currently includes 54 advanced lessons for MT5 charting, strategies, bots, testing, Python research, copy-trading architecture, execution engineering, ONNX research, and deployment operations.
Guided tracks
Choose the path that matches your risk
Work in order if you are new. Jump into a track if you already know the basics and need platform operations, copy-trading due diligence, bot-building depth, or expert MT5 systems engineering.
Start here
Beginner safety track
Broker checks, MetaTrader setup, order tickets, pips, lots, margin, stop-losses, and the anti-scam mindset before any strategy talk.
7 lesson path
Platform skill
MetaTrader operator track
Workspace setup, order management, trailing stops, Depth of Market, economic calendar, logs, troubleshooting, and execution discipline.
5 lesson path
Chart lab
MT5 chart strategist track
Templates, profiles, chart types, multi-timeframe analysis, precision tools, drawing objects, support/resistance zones, and visual backtesting.
7 lesson path
Systems
Strategy playbook track
Moving average, RSI/MACD, ATR, Bollinger, trend continuation, range, breakout, session/news, and tester-cost sensitivity labs.
10 lesson path
Due diligence
Copy trading defence track
Signals, provider evaluation, allocation, slippage, receiver risk, symbol mapping, copier events, and how to avoid paid copy-trading traps.
7 lesson path
Code bridge
MQL5 indicator automation track
Indicator handles, CopyBuffer, closed-bar signals, multi-timeframe EA design, dashboards, alerts, and chart-object hygiene.
6 lesson path
Advanced lab
Bot builder research track
MQL5 Expert Advisors, risk controls, Strategy Tester, walk-forward thinking, WebRequest security, Python data research, dashboards, and VPS operations.
10 lesson path
Expert build
MT5 systems engineering track
Account modes, symbol rules, margin/profit preflight, OrderCheck, retcodes, OnTradeTransaction, OnTimer, market book events, data integrity, optimization, calendar filters, portfolio risk, execution quality, and system audits.
17 lesson path
Model lab
Quant and ML research track
ONNX inference, ML validation, data leakage, non-stationarity, walk-forward controls, custom symbols, and observe-only research boundaries before any automation.
3 lesson path
Platform literacy
Install MetaTrader, open demo, read charts, place orders, use logs, and understand the trade ticket before touching live funds.
Risk before strategy
Every module repeats the same truth: position size, stop rules, drawdown, costs, and discipline matter more than prediction.
Bots without the hype
Learn Expert Advisor structure, MQL5 basics, demo-only safety checks, OrderCheck/OrderSend pipelines, retcodes, event handlers, backtesting, forward testing, and copy-bot architecture without fixed-return claims.
Free tools inside
Practical labs readers can actually use
The course is built around repeatable checks, demo exercises, code skeletons, and journal routines so readers leave with evidence, not hype.
Broker verification routine
Use FSCA checks, broker terms, withdrawal rules, and platform login hygiene before trusting a provider.
Open lab
Risk and lot-size drills
Practise pip value, lot size, stop distance, margin, and max-loss decisions in rand before live trading.
Open lab
MT5 chart workstation
Build templates, profiles, chart roles, precision tools, and clean object rules before strategy work.
Open lab
Strategy playbook labs
Study trend, range, breakout, volatility, session, and visual-testing workflows without signal claims.
Open lab
Copy-bot architecture lab
Study provider events, receiver validation, symbol mapping, stale-event rejection, and local risk caps.
Open lab
Python research workflow
Use the official MetaTrader5 Python package for demo data research, spread checks, and risk dashboards.
Open lab
EA preflight and retcode lab
Build a safer order pipeline with symbol checks, OrderCheck, OrderSend, retcode review, and rejection logs.
Open lab
ONNX research pipeline
Study model loading, inference logs, leakage controls, and observe-only demo boundaries for ML research.
Open lab
Read this before anything else
Forex is not a salary replacement, a guaranteed income stream, or a safe way to recover debt. Leveraged trading can lose money quickly. This course teaches mechanics and safety so readers can recognise overpriced courses, bot scams, signal traps, and copy-trading risk before anyone pressures them to deposit.
Course syllabus
Work through the modules in order
The bot and copy-trading lessons come after platform, order, and risk lessons on purpose. Automation should magnify a tested process, not hide confusion.
Start safely
3 lessons
Course rules, scam shield, and why this is free
Understand what this course is, what it is not, and how to avoid paid signal scams before opening a platform.
Open lesson 1
What forex is and how currency pairs move
Learn currency pairs, bid/ask quotes, majors, minors, exotics, and why USD/ZAR behaves differently from EUR/USD.
Open lesson 2
Broker checks, FSCA status, accounts, and demo setup
Learn how to check a broker, choose demo-first account settings, and avoid deposit-pressure traps.
Open lesson 3
MetaTrader foundation
3 lessons
Install MetaTrader 5, log in, and secure the platform
Set up MT5, log into the correct server, secure credentials, and understand the difference between investor and trading passwords.
Open lesson 4
MetaTrader workspace: Market Watch, charts, templates, and alerts
Learn the MT5 workspace so you can navigate charts, symbols, timeframes, templates, and alerts without panic-clicking.
Open lesson 5
Order types, lot sizes, margin, leverage, and stop-loss basics
Understand the trade ticket before you click buy or sell: market orders, pending orders, lot size, margin, stop-loss, take-profit, and slippage.
Open lesson 6
Risk and process
5 lessons
Pips, spreads, swaps, commission, and real trading cost
Calculate pip moves and understand why spreads, commission, swaps, and slippage matter more than headline profit screenshots.
Open lesson 7
Risk management and position sizing in rand
Build the risk system that keeps a bad trade from becoming an account-ending trade.
Open lesson 8
Charts, timeframes, market structure, and basic indicators
Read charts without drowning in indicators: trend, range, support, resistance, timeframes, moving averages, RSI, and ATR.
Open lesson 9
Trading plan, journal, and review routine
Create a written plan and journal so your trading becomes measurable instead of emotional.
Open lesson 10
News, sessions, economic calendars, and USD/ZAR context
Understand why sessions and economic releases change volatility, spreads, and execution risk.
Open lesson 11
Copy trading
3 lessons
Copy trading explained: signals, allocation, slippage, and ethics
Learn what copy trading does, how signal subscriptions work, and why copying a profitable-looking account can still be dangerous.
Open lesson 12
How to evaluate a copy-trading provider or signal history
Use drawdown, age, trade count, deposits, withdrawals, lot behaviour, and strategy type to avoid being fooled by screenshots.
Open lesson 13
MetaTrader signals: safe setup and subscription checklist
Understand the official MetaTrader Signals flow and the safety checks to complete before copying anything.
Open lesson 14
Bots and automation
5 lessons
Trading bots and Expert Advisors: what they can and cannot do
Learn what Expert Advisors are, why bots are not passive income machines, and how automation changes risk.
Open lesson 15
MetaEditor and MQL5 basics: OnInit, OnTick, inputs, and CTrade
Open MetaEditor, understand MQL5 structure, and read the basic parts of an Expert Advisor before writing one.
Open lesson 16
Build your first demo-only Expert Advisor
Create a simple demo-only moving-average EA with safety checks so you learn the workflow without pretending it is a profitable strategy.
Open lesson 17
Add risk controls to an Expert Advisor
Learn the safety layer every bot needs: demo lock, max spread, risk-based sizing, daily loss limit, and emergency disable rules.
Open lesson 18
WebRequest APIs, bot security, and why remote copiers are risky
Understand the security trade-offs of sending bot or copier data over HTTP APIs from MQL5.
Open lesson 33
Testing and deployment
5 lessons
Backtesting, optimization, and avoiding curve fitting
Use Strategy Tester responsibly, read reports, and avoid over-optimizing a bot until it only fits old data.
Open lesson 19
Forward testing, VPS, monitoring, and live-readiness checklist
Move from backtest to demo forward test, then learn what must be monitored before any tiny live deployment.
Open lesson 20
Build a simple copy-trading bot architecture for your own demo accounts
Learn the architecture of a consent-based demo trade copier without stealing signals, scraping private groups, or handling anyone's credentials.
Open lesson 21
Troubleshooting MetaTrader, EAs, signals, and trade copier errors
Use logs, Journal, Experts tab, connection status, symbol settings, and permissions to debug problems calmly.
Open lesson 22
Bot security, VPS hardening, updates, and version control
Protect automated trading setups with access control, versioned settings, update routines, backups, and kill switches.
Open lesson 37
MetaTrader advanced
3 lessons
Advanced MetaTrader order management and trailing stops
Manage open positions, pending orders, stop levels, partial exits, and trailing stops without turning platform features into false safety.
Open lesson 23
Depth of Market, spread, liquidity, and real execution
Learn what the Depth of Market can and cannot tell you, especially on OTC forex symbols where broker-provided liquidity matters.
Open lesson 24
Economic calendar, news risk, and USD/ZAR event discipline
Use the MetaTrader calendar and a news-risk routine so economic events do not surprise your demo or live plan.
Open lesson 25
Broker and compliance
1 lesson
Trading system design
4 lessons
Strategy design without curve fitting
Turn a trading idea into clear rules, testable assumptions, and invalidation criteria before optimizing settings.
Open lesson 27
Walk-forward testing and forward optimization
Use in-sample, out-of-sample, and forward-demo periods to reduce the chance of trusting a backtest fantasy.
Open lesson 28
Monte Carlo thinking, drawdown, and risk-of-ruin checks
Stress-test a strategy by reshuffling trade outcomes, widening costs, and asking whether the drawdown is survivable.
Open lesson 29
Portfolio of systems, correlation, and exposure limits
Avoid stacking the same risk across many pairs, bots, or signal providers that all depend on one market move.
Open lesson 36
Copy trading build lab
3 lessons
MQL5 file sandbox and the common-folder copier lab
Learn how MQL5 file permissions work before building a local demo copier that shares provider events safely.
Open lesson 30
Provider EA with OnTradeTransaction
Use the OnTradeTransaction event to understand how a provider EA can observe trade changes without guessing from ticks.
Open lesson 31
Receiver EA, symbol mapping, and risk multipliers
Design the receiver side of a demo copier: map symbols, scale volume, avoid duplicates, and reject unsafe events.
Open lesson 32
Data and research
2 lessons
Python and MetaTrader 5 for data research
Use the official MetaTrader5 Python package for research workflows, not blind live trading.
Open lesson 34
Build a Python risk dashboard and journal
Turn account history and trade exports into a risk dashboard that highlights behaviour, not hype.
Open lesson 35
MT5 charting masterclass
6 lessons
MT5 chart workstation: templates, profiles, and chart roles
Build a reproducible MetaTrader 5 workspace where every chart has a job: bias, setup, execution, risk, or review.
Open lesson 38
Candlestick, bar, and line charts: what each chart hides
Use MT5's built-in chart display types deliberately instead of treating candles as the only valid market view.
Open lesson 39
Multi-timeframe analysis in MT5 without hindsight bias
Build a top-down MT5 process across monthly, weekly, daily, intraday, and execution charts without cherry-picking.
Open lesson 40
MT5 precision tools: Crosshair, Data Window, scale, and volumes
Use MT5's precise chart-reading tools to measure bars, indicator values, spread, tick volume, and chart distance objectively.
Open lesson 41
Drawing tools in MT5: trendlines, channels, rectangles, and Fibonacci
Use MT5 analytical objects as controlled annotations, not as flexible artwork that can justify any trade.
Open lesson 42
Support, resistance, supply, and demand zones without fantasy lines
Turn support and resistance into testable zones with invalidation, retest, and failure criteria.
Open lesson 43
MQL5 indicator lab
8 lessons
MT5 indicator architecture: trend, oscillator, volume, and bands
Understand MT5 indicator categories so your chart stack measures different things instead of repeating the same signal.
Open lesson 44
Moving average strategy lab: trend, slope, pullback, and chop
Use moving averages as a structured trend-state tool, then test when they fail in ranging markets.
Open lesson 45
RSI and MACD momentum lab: divergence, exhaustion, and traps
Use momentum indicators as context tools while avoiding lazy overbought/oversold and divergence myths.
Open lesson 46
ATR volatility lab: stops, position size, and market regime
Use ATR to understand changing volatility, stop distance, position size, and when a strategy is entering a different regime.
Open lesson 47
Bollinger Bands and range strategy lab
Use bands to study volatility compression, expansion, mean reversion, and trend-walk conditions without simple touch-to-trade rules.
Open lesson 48
MQL5 indicator handles and CopyBuffer for closed-bar signals
Read indicator values correctly in MQL5 using handles, CopyBuffer, bar shifts, and closed-bar signal rules.
Open lesson 55
Multi-timeframe indicator EA design in MQL5
Design an EA that reads higher-timeframe filters and lower-timeframe triggers without mixing bars incorrectly.
Open lesson 56
MT5 dashboards, alerts, and chart-object hygiene for advanced review
Plan MT5 dashboards and alerts that summarize conditions without hiding risk, cluttering charts, or creating false urgency.
Open lesson 57
Strategy playbook lab
6 lessons
Trend continuation playbook in MT5
Design a demo trend-continuation strategy with higher-timeframe bias, pullback rules, invalidation, and review metrics.
Open lesson 49
Range and mean-reversion playbook in MT5
Build a demo range strategy that defines boundaries, middle-of-range danger, failed breaks, and trend-regime stop rules.
Open lesson 50
Breakout and false-break playbook in MT5
Study breakout continuation and false-break traps with volume context, spread checks, retest rules, and visual backtesting.
Open lesson 51
Session-based and news-filter strategy lab for USD/ZAR and majors
Design session and news filters for MT5 strategies, especially when South African traders watch USD/ZAR and USD-driven pairs.
Open lesson 52
Visual backtesting in MT5: replay, screenshots, and annotation
Use MT5 visual testing and chart screenshots to train strategy recognition without cheating with hindsight.
Open lesson 53
MT5 Strategy Tester modelling modes, delay, and cost sensitivity
Go deeper into MT5 Strategy Tester settings: tick modes, execution delay, spread, deposits, leverage, and why ideal tests lie.
Open lesson 54
MT5 systems engineering
17 lessons
MT5 account modes: netting, hedging, orders, deals, and positions
Understand the execution model behind MT5 accounts so EAs, copiers, journals, and risk controls do not confuse orders, deals, positions, hedging, and netting.
Open lesson 58
Symbol specification audit: tick size, stops level, freeze level, and contract rules
Build a broker-rule audit for every symbol before trusting a strategy, EA, copy receiver, or position-size calculator.
Open lesson 59
Margin and profit preflight with OrderCalcMargin and OrderCalcProfit
Use MQL5 preflight calculations to estimate required margin, possible profit/loss, and whether a trade idea fits account survival rules.
Open lesson 60
OrderCheck, OrderSend, filling policy, and trade server retcodes
Build a professional order-submission pipeline that checks requests, submits deliberately, reads retcodes, and explains every rejection.
Open lesson 61
Trade lifecycle state machine with OnTradeTransaction
Use OnTradeTransaction to track what happens after order submission: orders, deals, position changes, rejects, partial fills, and history updates.
Open lesson 62
OnTimer watchdogs, heartbeats, and EA schedulers
Move scheduled checks out of noisy tick logic by designing OnTimer heartbeats, watchdogs, session gates, and health logs.
Open lesson 63
OnBookEvent and market book microstructure lab
Study Depth of Market and market book events responsibly, including subscription, logging, spoofing caution, and why book data is not a magic signal.
Open lesson 64
Custom indicator engineering with OnCalculate and buffers
Build custom indicator logic with OnCalculate, buffers, series indexing, and visual output rules that can later be consumed by EAs.
Open lesson 65
Timeseries integrity with CopyRates, CopyTicks, and synchronization
Audit the data your EA or research notebook uses by checking bars, ticks, timestamps, missing data, spread, and broker history limits.
Open lesson 66
OnTester custom optimization criteria and robust selection
Go beyond net profit by designing custom optimization criteria that penalize fragile, overfit, high-drawdown, and low-sample systems.
Open lesson 67
Genetic optimization, parameter stability, and result mining
Use MT5 optimization results responsibly by studying parameter stability, neighbourhoods, forward windows, and result-mining traps.
Open lesson 68
Economic calendar API filters for news-aware EAs
Design news-aware EAs that use calendar context to pause, reduce risk, or observe only instead of pretending to predict event direction.
Open lesson 69
Portfolio risk engine: currency exposure, correlation, and equity guards
Move beyond single-trade risk by controlling open exposure, repeated currency bets, correlated positions, daily loss, and account-level kill switches.
Open lesson 70
Execution quality monitor: slippage, spread, rejects, and fills
Measure the difference between planned and actual execution so strategy results include spread, slippage, rejects, requotes, and partial fills.
Open lesson 71
Multi-currency EA scheduler architecture
Design a multi-currency EA that schedules symbol checks deliberately, avoids duplicated risk, and logs per-symbol state without relying on one chart's ticks.
Open lesson 72
MQL5 error handling, recovery maps, and observability
Design MQL5 systems that report, classify, and recover from errors without hiding broken assumptions or retrying dangerous actions.
Open lesson 73
Capstone: expert MT5 systems audit
Finish the expert engineering block by auditing a complete MT5 system from account setup to symbol rules, order preflight, event lifecycle, optimization, execution quality, and kill switches.
Open lesson 74
Quant and ML research lab
3 lessons
ONNX model research pipeline in MQL5
Learn how ONNX fits into an MT5 research workflow while keeping models observe-only until data, validation, and risk controls survive audit.
Open lesson 75
Machine-learning validation: leakage, non-stationarity, and walk-forward controls
Build a validation framework that attacks ML trading models before they reach a demo EA: leakage checks, walk-forward windows, regime testing, and cost stress.
Open lesson 76
Custom symbols and synthetic data labs in MT5
Use MT5 custom symbols for controlled research scenarios while clearly separating synthetic experiments from broker-tradeable evidence.
Open lesson 77
Finish responsibly
3 lessons
Forex glossary and master reference
Use a plain-English glossary for the terms scammers often use to sound more advanced than they are.
Open lesson 78
Capstone: 30-day demo academy plan
Finish the course with a 30-day plan that turns lessons into demo evidence, journals, bot tests, and go/no-go decisions.
Open lesson 79
Records, tax context, withdrawals, and final safety checklist
Keep records, understand why tax context matters, withdraw carefully, and use the final checklist before any live risk.
Open lesson 80