I am planning to open an account to trade on FOREX. Since I am new to trading on FOREX I am interested in opening an account where I can trade micro lots of 1,000 with margin no more then 1%. What would you recomend?
Thanks.

The RIGHT Forex broker for you depends on a couple of factors. It seems a lot of new Forex traders end up with Gain Capital(forex dot com), FXCM, or GFT. HOWEVER, the reason is is that these companies spend a ton of money advertising. Don’t get fooled by the advertising. Now, I’m not saying that one of those may not be right for you… but spend some time researching the different types of Forex brokers and the advantages of each. Read through a couple Forex Broker review sites, taking everything you read with a grain of salt because they all have a horse in the race (ie bias). Then consider the following:

1) Choose a broker that has a combination of strong liquidity sources and financial stability.

2) Understanding your trading strategy and how the different Brokers will affect it’s performance.

3) 3) What currency pair(s) do you expect to trade? Depending on a Broker’s liquidity source(s) the broker may have better or worse spreads on different pairs.

4) ECN, STP, or Market Maker? Is the broker trading against you or simply passing your orders onto the real market? Research the types of brokers and choose the one that fits your trading style best.

5) Fixed spread or Variable spread? This choice can be extremely important depending on the strategy you trade and the position sizes you take. If you mainly stick to high-volume market times for your trading than you will probably want a variable spread which often translates into lower overall spread costs. If you get signals around the clock, many times during off peak hours a fixed spread Broker may be better because fixed spreads tend to be cheaper than variable spreads during off market times.

6) What trading platform do you want to use? This is EXTREMELY important. Open demo accounts at a variety of brokers and find a platform you are comfortable trading.

7) Do you want to trade with an on-shore or off-shore Broker? The location of your Broker may have important tax and legal consequences.

Don’t get caught up in the hype of Forex broker advertising. Do your research. The Broker you choose becomes your partner in the Forex market. This partnership is crucial. The Broker will always benefit from this relationship. Whether or not you benefit depends on Broker you choose.

What are the best reliable websites for online forex trading and what are your helpful tips for the one who just started to get acquainted to this? Thanks

forex trading is for pros with lots of experience and deep pockets.

98% of all new traders, even in easier lines such as trading stocks, lose some, all, or more than all of their capital within the first two years — according to one psychologist who has studied traders and trading for over 25 years.

this effect is so reliable that forex is one of the areas in which “bucket shops” still exist. A “bucket shop” is one that acknowledges your trade and then throws the chit for it into the bucket — they never actually have the orders filled because they know that the odds of you winning in the long run are 1 in 50. if they’re patient and keep good records, they’ll almost certainly end up with your money. And, by not having executed the actual trades, they pocketed all the execution fees [which, btw, you paid]. [Sure ... they occasionally lose a bit -- but with 49 guys paying them for each one who takes some home, they can afford it.]