In this article I am going to describe 3 of the most important things you should know before investing a dime into the currency exchange market or what is better known as "Forex".

1. The most important thing you will need to know is what broker to open an account with. There are many to choose from, unfortunately only a handful are true ECN brokers that you are more likely to succeed with. What is an ECN? An electronic system that attempts to eliminate the role of a third party in the execution of orders entered by an exchange market maker.

The reason it is important that you only trade with an ECN broker is because they cannot manipulate the market and only make their commission from a transaction fee which is a flat rate. The other brokers make their money from the spread and some even take the other side of your trade and will make a profit if you loose.

You should now understand why this is an important decision that most traders overlook.

2. Another valuable tip is choosing the right trading software. Many investors think that they need to spend hundreds of dollars a month to a charting provider that provides indicators and charts for all the currencies. The good news is that this is not necessary. There are several free services available, however, my personal favorite is Metatrader. This software contains over 100 tools and you can even place a trade directly from a chart.

3. My final tip is just as important as the other two, if not more important. Almost every broker will provide you with a demo account. You should always use this as a starting point and NEVER invest real money until you have proven to your self that you are ready. This doesn't mean that you should start trading live after you have made a lot of profit on demo for a few weeks. You should demo trade for at least 3 months before considering risking real money.

I hope the tips I have presented in this article will save you money and time from all the research that is necessary to learn these important aspects of Forex Trading.