Gold trading for beginners: a free 30-day XAUUSD course
One short block a day for 30 days: what XAUUSD is, how to read the chart, how to size a trade, one simple strategy, and a month of demo practice with a journal. Every step links to a free lesson, guide or calculator.
This free gold trading course for beginners turns the academy's beginner lessons into a 30-day plan. Each day has one or two pages to read, sometimes a calculator, and a short task you do on a chart or a demo account, so by day 30 you have a written trading plan, a position size you can work out in under a minute and a month of journalled demo trades. It takes about 45 to 60 minutes a day. It will not make you profitable in a month; it gives you a safe, structured way to find out whether gold trading suits you before real money is at risk.
The course at a glance
| Who it's for | Complete beginners, and anyone who has opened a few gold trades without a written plan. You need a computer or phone, free charts and a demo account; no money is at risk during the course. |
|---|---|
| Prerequisites | None. Set aside 45 to 60 minutes a day. You'll open a demo account with a provider regulated in your country on day 4 (we never recommend brokers). |
| Time needed | 30 days at about 45 to 60 minutes a day (roughly 25 hours in total). The linked pages take about 7 hours to read. |
| What you'll have at the end | A one-page written plan for one setup, confident lot sizing from your stop, a month of demo trades in a journal, and passed quizzes for the beginner lessons. |
| Lessons | 14 academy lessons with quizzes, plus 42 guides, problem fixes, test results and tools. |
Track your progress
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The 30-day plan, day by day
Week 1: Know what you're trading
Before strategies: what XAUUSD is, when it trades, what it costs and how big one lot really is.
Day 1 What XAUUSD is
- Guide · 6 min readHow Much Is 1 Lot of Gold? XAUUSD Lot Size in Ounces, Grams, Dollars and MarginQuiz passed
Task: Write one sentence on why you want to trade gold, and the amount you could lose in full without it affecting your life. That number caps any future live account.
Day 2 When gold trades
Task: Note the London and New York sessions in your own time zone and pick the one window you can realistically sit at the screen.
Day 3 Prices, spreads and pip value
- Problem fix · 5 min readGold Bid and Ask Price Explained: Why the Buy Price Is Higher Than the Sell PriceQuiz passed
Task: Work out what a $1 move is worth at 0.01, 0.10 and 1.00 lot, and what a $0.30 spread costs at each size.
Day 4 Set up your charts and demo
- Problem fix · 5 min readGold Symbol on MT4, MT5 and TradingView: XAUUSD, GOLD, GC1! and SuffixesQuiz passed
- Problem fix · 5 min readHow to Set Up a Gold Chart on TradingView (XAUUSD Settings That Work)Quiz passed
Task: Open a demo account with a balance you could realistically fund, add XAUUSD and save a chart layout with D1, H4 and H1.
Day 5 Orders and stops
- Lesson · Beginner · 14 min readOrder Types and Execution for Gold (XAUUSD): Market, Limit, Stop Orders, Spreads and SlippageQuiz passed
- Problem fix · 5 min readHow to Set Stop-Loss and Take-Profit on Gold in MT5 (Mobile and Desktop)Quiz passed
Task: On the demo, place a limit order and a stop order with a stop-loss and take-profit, then cancel them. Repeat until it takes under a minute.
Day 6 Risk per trade
Task: Size three made-up trades at 1% risk with $5, $10 and $20 stops by hand, then check each answer with the calculator.
Day 7 Your 30-day demo rules
Task: Write your demo rules: one session, a maximum risk per trade, at most two trades a day, and stop for the day after two losses. Take the quizzes for this week's lessons.
Week 2: Read the chart
Six lessons that teach you to read gold's chart without a pile of indicators. One lesson a day, then mark what you learned on real gold charts.
Day 8 Support and resistance
- Lesson · Beginner · 15 min readGold Support and Resistance Strategy: Trading XAUUSD LevelsQuiz passed
Task: Mark the five clearest D1 and H4 levels on gold and take a screenshot. You'll check them again on day 14.
Day 9 Market structure
Task: Label the last 10 swings on H4 as higher highs, higher lows, lower highs or lower lows, then describe today's structure in one word: up, down or range.
Day 10 Trendlines and channels
- Lesson · Beginner · 11 min readTrendlines and Channels on Gold (XAUUSD): How to Draw Them, Trade Them and Spot FakeoutsQuiz passed
Task: Draw one trendline or channel on H4 that touches at least three swings, and note the price that would break it.
Day 11 Candlestick patterns
- Lesson · Beginner · 14 min readCandlestick Patterns on Gold (XAUUSD): Anatomy, Key Patterns, Context and SetupsQuiz passed
Task: Find three pin bars or engulfing candles at your marked levels and three in the middle of nowhere. Note what followed each one.
Free download: Gold Candlestick Patterns Cheat Sheet
Day 12 Chart patterns
- Lesson · Beginner · 12 min readChart Patterns on XAUUSD: Head and Shoulders, Double Tops, Triangles, Flags and Measured MovesQuiz passed
- Lesson · Beginner · 10 min readGold Chart Patterns Cheat Sheet: 12 Patterns on XAUUSD With Stats CaveatsQuiz passed
Task: Find one double top or bottom and one flag in gold's H1 or H4 history, and write where each pattern would have been invalidated.
Free download: Gold Chart Patterns Cheat Sheet
Day 13 Moving averages
- Lesson · Beginner · 11 min readMoving Averages for Gold Trading: SMA vs EMA, Trend Filters and Pullback SetupsQuiz passed
Task: Add one EMA to H4 and record whether price closed above or below it on each of the last 10 days.
Day 14 Timeframes and review
Task: Compare today's chart with your day-8 screenshot: which levels held and which broke? Take the quizzes for this week's lessons.
Week 3: One simple strategy
Pick one complete, rule-based setup, then learn the problems that catch new gold traders: news spikes, spreads, slippage and stops.
Day 15 A complete beginner strategy
- Guide · 14 min readThe Best Gold Trading Strategy for Beginners (A Simple, Rules-Based Starting Plan)Quiz passed
Task: Rewrite the strategy's rules in your own words until a stranger could follow them without asking you a question.
Day 16 Breakout and retest
Task: Find five breakout-and-retest examples in the past month of H1 data, including at least two that failed.
Day 17 Choose a style that fits your day
- Lesson · Beginner · 8 min readScalping vs Swing Trading Gold: Which Fits Your Life and AccountQuiz passed
- Guide · 6 min readHow to Trade Gold With a Full-Time Job: A Part-Time XAUUSD Routine That Fits Your DayQuiz passed
Task: Decide your style from the hours you actually have, not from the one that looks most exciting.
Day 18 News and volatility
Task: List this week's high-impact US releases in your time zone and add a 'no new trades' window around each one.
Day 19 Problems every beginner meets
- Problem fix · 5 min readWhy Does the Gold Spread Widen at Rollover? XAUUSD at the Daily CloseQuiz passed
- Problem fix · 5 min readGold Slippage Explained: Why My XAUUSD Order Filled at a Different PriceQuiz passed
Task: Watch the spread on your demo for five minutes either side of the 5 pm New York rollover and write down the widest value you see.
Day 20 Write your trading plan
- Guide · 6 min readXAUUSD Pre-Trade Checklist: 10 Checks Before Every Gold Trade (With Free Tools)Quiz passed
Task: Write a one-page plan: market, session, setup rules, stop, target, risk per trade and daily limits.
Free downloads: XAUUSD Trading Plan Template · XAUUSD Pre-Trade Checklist
Day 21 Profit, loss and reward-to-risk
- Guide · 6 min readHow to Calculate Profit and Loss on Gold: The XAUUSD Formula With Worked ExamplesQuiz passed
Task: Work out the profit of a full win and the loss of a full loss at your demo size. Take the quizzes for this week's lessons.
Week 4: Practise, journal and review
Trade your plan on the demo, record every trade and review it honestly. Rule-following matters more than profit at this stage.
Day 22 Start your journal
- Lesson · Beginner · 9 min readGold Trading Journal Templates: What to Record and How to ReviewQuiz passed
Task: Set up your journal and, from today, log every demo trade with a screenshot, your reason for the trade and the price that proves you wrong.
Free download: XAUUSD Trading Journal Spreadsheet
Day 23 Trading psychology
- Lesson · Beginner · 15 min readTrading Psychology for Gold: Fear, Greed, FOMO, Tilt and the Routines That Protect YouQuiz passed
Task: Write down the two mistakes you are most likely to make (for example moving the stop or revenge trading) and the rule that prevents each.
Day 24 Margin and stop-outs
Task: Calculate the margin your demo position uses and how far price would have to move against you to reach a stop-out.
Day 25 Demo day: follow the plan
- Guide · 9 min readHow to Handle a Losing Streak in Gold Trading: The Maths, the Warning Signs and a Reset PlanQuiz passed
Task: Trade your plan in your session, at most two trades. Journal both, win or lose.
Day 26 Expectancy: why win rate isn't enough
- Lesson · Intermediate · 13 min readTrading Math for Gold Traders: R-Multiples, Expectancy, Drawdowns and Position SizingQuiz passed
Task: Try a few hypothetical win rates and average wins and losses in the calculator. Your own numbers only mean something after a much larger sample.
Day 27 Demo day: avoid the traps
- Guide · 6 min readGold Trading EAs and Bots: A 12-Point Checklist Before You Trust One With MoneyQuiz passed
Task: Trade your plan again. Note any moment you felt tempted to copy a signal or change a rule in the middle of a trade.
Day 28 How much money you really need
Task: Using your day-1 number, check whether 1% risk with your usual stop is possible at 0.01 lot. If it isn't, the honest answer is to keep practising and saving.
Day 29 Review the month
Task: Count your demo trades, rule breaks and the largest loss. See in the calculator why a deep drawdown takes a much larger gain to recover.
Day 30 Quizzes, certificate and next steps
Task: Retake any beginner lesson quiz you haven't passed (4 of 5 marks it complete). Then decide: keep demo trading the same plan, or start a second course. Most traders need more than one month of demo practice.
Practise in the community
Reading teaches the ideas; feedback is what makes them stick. Inside the XAUUSD Global community, pods of 5 to 8 traders post a plan at the stand-up before the London session (06:30 UTC) and before New York (12:30 UTC), then review each other's trades in one format: screenshot, thesis, invalidation and outcome. Bring each module's practice task to your pod and ask traders on your level to check your markings and your sizing. How a trading pod works explains the routine.
The courses are free and stay free. The community is optional: the first month is free, then $19.99 a month, cancel any time.
Finish with the quizzes and certificate
Every academy lesson in this course ends with a five-question quiz. Score 4 of 5 and the lesson is marked complete here and on the academy's learning path. Passed quizzes also count toward the free XAUUSD Foundations certificate, which unlocks when all 51 academy lessons are passed. It is a self-study certificate, not a regulated qualification, and it can't show trading results; your journal does that.
Where to go next
All four paths are on the free gold trading courses page. The other three:
Prefer to browse? The Gold Trading Academy lists every lesson by level, and gold trading problems solved answers the issues traders hit most.
Frequently asked questions
Can I learn gold trading in 30 days?
You can learn the basics in 30 days: what XAUUSD is, how to read a chart, how to size a trade and how to follow a written plan on a demo account. Becoming consistently profitable usually takes far longer, and many traders never get there. Treat day 30 as the end of the first stage, not the finish line.
Do I need money to take this course?
No. The course is free and every practical task uses a demo account with virtual money. Only consider a live account after many more demo trades in which you followed your rules, and only with money you can afford to lose.
How long does each day take?
Most days take 45 to 60 minutes: one or two pages to read and a short task. Lesson days in week 2 are the longest. If you fall behind, pause rather than skipping days; the order matters more than the speed.
What if I miss a day?
Continue from where you stopped. The ticks are saved in your browser, so the tracker shows the next unfinished day. The plan works just as well over six weeks as over four.
Do I get a certificate at the end?
Each lesson in the course ends with a five-question quiz, and passing it counts toward the free XAUUSD Foundations certificate. The certificate itself needs all 51 academy lessons passed, so the beginner course gets you part of the way. It is a self-study certificate, not a regulated qualification.
Which course should I take after this one?
The risk management course suits everyone next. After that, choose by style: the SMC and ICT course if you like structure and liquidity, or the scalping course only if you have low costs, fast execution and uninterrupted hours at the screen.
Educational content only, not financial advice. Trading gold with leverage carries a high risk of loss.