How to Start Trading Forex

There are a lot of early steps that every Forex trader has to take before getting started in successfully trading the Forex markets. The first and most obvious step is to actually open a Forex account so you have access to the market.

This is necessary so you can determine which Forex software and which online Forex platform you prefer, which are necessary to even open a "play money" or free trading account (always recommended for the beginner Forex trader as this lets you use real market information to test out your trading strategies without risking any real money).

The good news is that opening a Forex account is not difficult. In a way, there are only three basic steps to opening up an online Forex trading account:
1. Select an account type
2. Register your account
3. Activate your account

If these three steps don't immediately bring a lot of clarity, don't worry, I'm about to go through them one by one to make this process as easy and painless as possible.

Select an Account Type
There are different types of Forex accounts and different ways of opening them. These accounts can be opened either in your name, or the name of your business. You will be given choices between standard accounts or micro/mini accounts.

Occasionally you might even see the offer of a managed account. Figure out which account type fits your needs and select that one.

Depending on the Forex trading platform that you have chosen to do your trading with, the registration instructions will follow and guide you through step by step. As this is occurring, you will eventually be shown a page of the Broker's policies, which brings us to step two:

Read the Broker's Policies
I can't stress this enough. Don't just gloss over it, but pay particular attention to the fine print. You may sign a contract to a broker with policies you don't want to follow.

Different brokers have different rules, so it is particularly important to make sure you're getting a deal you can live with.

Once you've read and agreed to the policies, you can register. Once that's done, you can create a username and password for your account. Right there you're activated.

While it's not necessary to practice first, I always strongly recommend using a practice account until you get used to the tools and start consistently making profits in practice. Then you'll be able to trade the real money with confidence.