My Long Road Back to Forex – Falling, Failing, and Starting Over

Community Introduce Yourself
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Hey everyone

My name is Lebohang, and I want to share my forex story.

I first heard about forex in 2016. Back then, I had no money to trade, only curiosity. I used to watch other people trading and wished I could do the same. In 2017, I tried learning from YouTube, but I stopped too soon. A friend sent me the BabyPips intro book, but I just saved it in my Google Drive and never read it.

In 2021, I gave it another try. I opened a demo account and later a real one, but I kept blowing accounts. I didn’t really know what I was doing and traded with emotions instead of a plan.

In 2023, I started taking things a bit more seriously. I joined some Telegram signal groups, followed their trades, and still lost money. I was chasing trades without understanding them.

2024 was almost the same, depositing and losing. But around August, I decided enough is enough. I’m now starting from scratch. I’m taking time to go through BabyPips lessons properly, watching YouTube to understand charts better, and using AI tools to help me learn step by step.

Right now, I’m only trading on demo, trying to build discipline and patience. I’ve realized forex is not a quick money game,it’s a skill that takes time.

If you’ve ever restarted after failing many times, I’d love to hear how you stayed consistent.

Thanks for reading my story

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Well, I read your story and I have to say I admire your persistence and determination.

What is often seen in stories like this from struggling new traders is interesting, and so is what they usually miss out.

It is usual to read who these traders got ideas from, which signal services they used, which groups they joined, which brokers they were with, which Youtubers they followed, which platforms they used and abandoned. But the stories do not usually tell what strategy they started with or what strategy they used to use or what strategy they are using now.

Occasionally, the history of a new trader does mention strategies and you find out then that they were using 3 or 4 or 5 strategies at the same time.

In your story, you have come to the conclusion that you are not successful because you do not have enough knowledge. In many well known respected professions, the people with the most knowledge get paid the most money. I would question whether this is true in trading.

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Welcome back to Babypips!

You really have a great journey of persistence. I have to agree with Tommor, especially this part

It’s not the most knowledge that gives results, its the appropriate knowledge and how you apply it to your trading. In trading it’s probably not good to be a “Jack of all trades and a master of none”.

Thanks for sharing your story and I look forward to hearing more from you in the community :pray:

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Thank you so much, @Tommor and @MartialChartsFX

You’re both so right. I used to switch between different ideas, I started with support and resistance, then tried ICT, but now I’m focusing on EMAs, SMC, and RSI. I’m still testing it, but it feels more comfortable and clear to me.

I really want to stay consistent this time and master one approach. Do you think combining EMAs with SMC and RSI can work well if I keep it simple?

Thanks again for the warm welcome

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I don’t think that the “S” in SMC stands for Simple :joy:. SMC is just over complicated Supply & Demand, Market Structure, and Price Action in my opinion, but it gets its trading signals from a naked chart.

I bring up the naked chart trade signals because you mentioned EMAs and RSI. Are you getting your signals from SMC and using the indicators as confluence or do the indicators contribute equally to your trade signals?

Since indicators lag behind price, you could get conflicting signals. I occasionally use Stochastic RSI to check for hidden divergence, but in general when price and the indicator don’t agree, I always believe price.

Settling down on one strategy that makes sense to you is most important.

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Haha, you got me there! Yeah, SMC is definitely not simple.

To answer your question: SMC gives me the main signal. It tells me the “why” and “where.” The EMAs and RSI are just my confluence check. They help me be patient and wait for a pullback instead of chasing.

You’re right, they do lag. So if I see a perfect SMC setup but the indicators are screaming “no,” I’ll pass. Price is the boss.

I’m locking this one strategy down and sticking to it. Thanks for pushing me to make it clearer.

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Hi Lebo,

I totally understand where you’re coming from. Getting into this industry and trying to gain the knowledge and support every new trader (or wannabe trader) needs to survive is extremely hard — especially when you’re trying to navigate through all the BS online. The fakes, the “I-know-it-alls,” and even trying to figure out what’s actually useful vs. what’s just noise can be overwhelming.

Most of the YouTubers and TikTokers are only out to make money off you. There are a few decent ones, but even they are often just like us — learning as they go, with no formal education or background in institutional-level trading.

I’ve been there, done that. Honestly, I consider myself lucky I haven’t completely blown up my account. In fact, I’ve managed to build it up a bit — but it hasn’t been easy. It’s taken a long time and a lot of effort.

But you’ve made it here, and that’s the best part — you’re learning from your mistakes, which is something most people never do. If I can give you just one piece of advice that no one ever really tells you, it’s this:

Trading is just an idea — and the execution of that idea.

If you’re right, great — you win. If you’re wrong, the next level of growth is having the discipline to close the trade and not let it run into ruin. That’s it. No magical signal, no copying others. Just you, your charts, your analysis, your understanding of the market, and your ability to execute when everything lines up.

People might say I’m crazy or not like what I’m saying, but this is what I’ve learned over time: Every trade is just an idea, based on the knowledge and tools you’ve built.

Even if you have a strategy — say one built for trending markets — that strategy itself is an idea crafted for a specific condition. Nothing more, nothing less. Yes, you can backtest it, refine it, improve your edge… but in the end, it’s still just an idea.

Trading is execution on ideas. And risk management is what keeps you in the game.

Hope that helps — and respect to you for sticking with it.

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Thank you so much for this. Seriously, your message hit home.

It’s refreshing to hear someone keep it this real. You’re right, there’s so much noise out there, and it’s hard to know who to trust. I’ve definitely fallen for some of those “gurus” selling dream results.

What you said about trading being just an idea,that really stuck with me. It takes the pressure off trying to find some “perfect” system and puts the focus back on my own thinking and execution. I’ve lost trades not because the idea was bad, but because I didn’t respect my own rules when I was wrong.

I’m finally starting to understand that discipline isn’t a trading strategy ,it’s what makes any strategy work.

It means a lot to hear this from someone who’s been through it and is still in the game. Thanks for the encouragement and the no-BS insight.

I’ll keep learning, sticking to my plan, and respecting the risk.

Respect back at you

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I also spent a long time jumping between setups and indicators, thinking I needed “more knowledge.”
Nothing changed until I forced myself to track every trade and stick to one approach long enough to see real data instead of emotions.

Keep doing what you’re doing — execution + discipline turn ideas into results.

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Totally — keep learning like the rest of us, but always respect risk. Your job as a trader isn’t to make money, it’s to protect your capital. When you protect capital, the gains follow.

You control the risk — don’t let it control you.

If you’re not fully confident in a setup, lower your risk. Even risking something like 0.1% of total account capital keeps you in control and prevents emotional damage. That’s how you stay in the game long enough to grow.

Also remember: it’s not about being right all the time. It’s about the size of your winners compared to your losers.

For example, with a 1:2 risk-to-reward ratio, you only need to win around 33% of your trades to break even. Anything above that is profit. That’s why professional traders focus on asymmetric reward — bigger wins, smaller losses.

Even if you lose two trades and win one:
-1 –1 +2 = break-even

Your winners make up for your losers because they pay more than they cost.

Most new traders chase high win-rates. Experienced traders chase good risk-to-reward and protect their capital. Do that, and you’ll stay consistent.

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Thank you Shifting my focus from being right to managing risk/reward. Thanks for the clarity.

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Most of us get obsessed with the pursuit of a strategy that works well even though we’ve heard a thousand times that there is no holy grail. I think probably no strategy can be profitable if we lack experience, and with experience quite possibly most simple strategies can bring in good results. Whichever time frame or adopted triggers, it’s building experience that really counts and allows better estimation of a given set-up’s odds of success.

yes discipline and patience. It does take time to become good at anything. Best wishes.

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Thank you. That means a lot.

You’re right , discipline and patience are everything. I’m done chasing. Now I’m just focusing on building the skill slowly, one trade at a time.
Thanks fo the wishes

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The s stands for Smart
SMC= SMART MONEY CONCEPT

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Yes, I think exactly this, too.

People trying to learn quickly naturally want a short cut, tho. And finding (or even buying) a system to copy comes across to them as such a great short cut that it can look like a quick substitute for both education and screen time - the two things we all really needed when we started.

And unfortunately - but predictably - there’s no shortage of vendors portraying whatever they’re selling that way. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

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Yes, and the ideas being confirmed by the weight of probabilities in favour of the trade.
Risk management is the only factor that we can control.

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A quote from Tom Hougaard that concurs with most of the posts here …

‘I accept that my way is not the only way. I describe my way. Whatever you decide is right for you is right for you. Trust it.’

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Hello, @LEBO1997, and welcome to the community.

Your story is one of resilience and determination where many would have thrown up their hands in defeat and resignation to fate. I admire the resolve to trudge on despite the challenges.

I also have suffered many failures. It comes with the territory. The most important thing that kept me going is the optimistic mindset that my efforts would pay off considerably. I may not be where I want to be but I am miles and miles ahead of where I used to be. Consistency will achieve progress if you trust the process. Getting 1% better everyday is the goal. I wish you all the best on your journey.

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Thank you. Your words mean more than you know.

Hearing you say “I may not be where I want to be but I am miles ahead of where I used to be” really hit home. That’s the quiet truth that keeps me going, even on the difficult days. The losses still hurt, but the skills and perspective I’ve gained on this journey have brought me to a point of no return not in a desperate way, but in a determined one. I’ve built something in myself that won’t allow me to quit.

Your focus on getting “1% better every day” is a powerful reminder. It takes the pressure off needing to be perfect now and brings the focus back to consistent, deliberate progress. I’m committed to trusting that process.

Wishing you continued strength and success on your own path.

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That’s exactly where I’ve been stuck too - always thinking the next indicator or strategy would be the answer. But you’re right, the real change happens when we stop searching and start committing to one approach.

[quote=“Paul_J7, post:9, topic:1303516”]
Nothing changed until I forced myself to track every trade and stick to one approach long enough to see real data instead of emotions.
[/quote] I will consider this too,
Thanks for the encouragement - execution and discipline over everything.