You may have heard about the foreign exchange market ( forexrebates cashback forex) forex d forexbonusrebatecount brokers its investment advantages. You would love to experience it, but dont know where to start. This short guide will give you the basics of Forex and show you what you need to get involved in this fast growing field. Foreign exchange is restricted to large players such as international banks and multinational institutions. In the 1980's the rules were changed to allow small investors to participate using margin accounts. Margin accounts forexdiscountbrokers the reason why forex trading has become so popular. With a 100:1 margin account, you can manage $100,000 with a $1,000 investment. Forex is not simple, however, and making wise investment decisions requires training. Although getting started in Forex is very simple, there are risks involved, so learning as much as possible about the market is good practice for any beginner. Forex traders usually need a broker to handle their trades. Most brokers are reputable and work with large financial institutions such as banks. Reputable brokers will register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as Futures Commission Merchants (FCM) to avoid fraud and abuse of trading rules. Applying for Forex is very simple and requires only filling out a form and providing the necessary identification. The form will include a margin agreement to indicate that the broker can intervene in any transaction that is too risky. This is to protect the brokers interests most traders, in the end, use the brokers funds. Once your account is established, you can deposit funds and start trading. Many brokers have different account types to meet the needs of individual investors. Mini accounts allow you to enter Forex trading with as little as $250, while standard accounts have a minimum deposit of $1,000 to $2,500 depending on the broker. Higher leverage gives you more money to trade with. However, beginner traders are advised to get familiar with Forex by trading on paper for a while. Paper trades are trading exercises that do not involve real money. They allow you to understand how the system works and learn how to use the different software tools offered by most Forex brokers. Most online brokers have demo accounts. You are allowed to paper trade for free for 30 days. It is highly recommended for every new Forex investor to use these accounts until they are able to make consistent profits. Each broker has its own set of software tools, but there are several tools that are available to all Forex brokers. Real-time quotes, news, technical analysis and charts, profit and loss analysis are also some of the features that can be found on most online brokers websites. Almost every broker operates via the Internet. To access their online services you should have a modern computer, a fast Internet connection, and a daily updated operating system such as WindowsXP. Once your account is opened, you can log in from any computer just by entering your account and password. If for some reason you cannot log in to your computer, most brokers allow you to trade by phone. Trading is commission free, which means you can make many trades in a day without worrying about incurring high brokerage fees. Brokers make money through the spread, which is the difference between the bid and ask price.