International Trade

You have read enough material on what forex is, have a full grasp of fundamental and technical analysis, have a clear understanding of money management and have a basic perspective of emotions involved. Now there is a burning desire to try trading! How to start forex trading? Is there a way to practice first before investing any money? Where to go? Who to ask? How to click? What to do?!

Well, let's start from the beginning:

1. Choosing Forex Broker

Now that you are an educated beginner, it is time to find a forex broker. There are tones of them now a days, which makes the whole choosing process quite challenging. What kind of trading platform to choose? What are good trading conditions? Is there a demo account? Are there any extra charges?

There is a couple of things you should pay attention to when choosing a broker:

· Trading Platform

There are many trading platforms available and all of them differ. Some of the platforms are online, others are for download. Some require profound knowledge of charting, trading and overall understanding of the market; others are designed in a more user-friendly manner.

The best way to figure out whether the platform suits you is to get to know the platform via the free demo account. Almost all forex brokers offer a practice account, which allow you to practice your trading skills before investing real money. Compare several platforms and choose what is best for you. In most cases, you have about 30 days of unlimited practice time, so use it wisely!

· Trading Conditions

Take a closer look at what a selected forex broker offers - minimum account size, minimum deposit requirements, leverage options, extra fees (those can be found in terms and conditions of almost any broker, although they all claim that there aren't any!), real-time charting tools, live updates, customer support (try sending emails, chatting with online help and even calling the broker on the phone), streaming news, signal alerts, mobile features, educational materials (some brokers offer webinars, trading tutorials, personal account manager and more) and other features.

2. Making the First Trade

Now that you have a forex broker and you had enough of demo practicing, it is time to move on, make a deposit and start trading for real.

If you did, in fact, practice with the virtual money, you should know the trading platform well enough to make your first trade:

· Switch to real mode and deposit some money in your trading account. Most online brokers offer several payment methods to choose from, such as credit card, paypal, neteller, liberty reserve, wire transfer and others. Usually, the method you have chosen to make deposit with will also be the option for withdrawing your profits.

· Stay focused. While demo trading may seem like a piece of cake (especially with 50,000 virtual money), the real live trading is a bit different in terms of the amount you deposit (it is advisable to start with small deposits first - no more than $500) and emotions involved.

Keep in mind that losses are unavoidable. Consider them as a down payment for the future career.

· Choose the currency pair, set your risks, leverage, stop/loss and take profit levels.

· Set up the charts according to your style - time frame, indicators etc.

· Decide on the amount to trade.

· Enter a trade and see what happens! In case you set stop/loss limit, your trade will be closed automatically by the software. In other case, definitely less desirable, you will have to exit the trade manually.

· Keep a journal of your trades, write down everything - trading positions, your feelings before the trade, your emotions during and after, results, reasons for taking a trade etc.

· Read, analyze and learn! Most professional traders use both technical and fundamental analysis to make decisions.

· Don't overtrade - know when to walk away and stick to your trading plan.

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