The FOREX is a worldwide market, meaning it is basically open 24 hours a day. This eliminates the gaps you see almost every morning with tradional stocks. The FOREX market trades approximately $1.2 trillion every day, making it very easy to get in and out of your positions quickly.

So why trade the FOREX market?

* The FOREX market is always a bull market because currencies are paired off against one another, which means there is always currency that is going up.

* The FOREX market is open 24 hours a day.

* The FOREX market is highly leveraged. While a margin account for trading stocks has a leverage of 2 (50% margin requirement) the FOREX market can have a leverage ratio of 400. Keep in mind that while this makes your upside potential a lot greater it also makes your downside risk a lot greater as well.

* The FOREX market is extremely liquid making it very easy to get in and out of various trading positions quickly.

FOREX trading is a fantastic alternative to trading commodities and futures. Remember, though, that there is still a lot of risk and you need to educate yourself before starting to trade the FOREX market.

Forex trading is the trading of different types of foreign currencies, sometimes just called currency trading.

While forex trading used to be limited to large banks and institutional traders, advancements in technology have allowed smaller traders to be able to benefit from forex trading as well, via the different online trading platforms now available.

The idea behind profiting from forex trading is taking a position in a currency that you believe will appreciate against the currency it is paired against.

Although the large majority of the focus in the investing world is on stocks and bonds, the currenty market is the oldest and largest financial market in the world.

Jumping into Forex trading with both feet? Here are five must-know tips on forex trading and mini forex to help you stay afloat in the Foreign Exchange currency market.

Know your forex trading market.
Educate yourself about the currencies that you trade. The more you know about the country whose currency you’re trading in the forex market, the more accurately you’ll be able to predict which way the money will move.

Pick a forex trading system – and stick with it.
Savvy forex traders will tell you that system is everything. Forex trading by system lets you automate your trades based on history, following the traditional peaks and valleys. Set up a system and live with it to make the most of your forex trading.

Practice makes perfect – but it’s not the real world.
Practice forex trading accounts are great for learning how a particular trading account works – but they’re not the real world. Many experienced traders recommend starting off with a mini forex account to minimize your losses while you get acclimated.

Keep your eye on the margin.
Margin trading is a great way to lose a lot of money quickly. Stay away from forex margin trading until you’re sure you know what you’re doing.

The only win that counts in forex trading is the bottom line. In forex trading, the bottom line is how much money you made at the end of the day. Don’t count won or lost trades – only dollars and cents.