What are the Best Forex Mini Accounts for Beginners?

Have you considered Forex mini accounts as an alternative to trading full size accounts? In case you didn’t know, a mini account allows you to trade contract sizes of 10,000 of the base currency instead of the standard 100,000. What that means is that one pip is worth $1 instead of the $10 that it normally is in a full size account.

So why would anyone want to trade on a Forex mini account instead of a full size account? Well, first of all, you get to start trading with a lot less capital because you’re not risking as much per trade. You still get all the benefits of a full size account, including the same spreads, the same trading platform and the same execution. Most importantly, you will not be undercapitalized and risking too much of your capital.

Starting Out With Forex Mini Accounts

There are many situations where trading on Forex mini accounts is an attractive option, for example, if you do not have sufficient capital to trade on a full size account. Even if you do have sufficient capital to start out trading full sized lots, I would recommend starting out on a mini account. It’s a well known fact that traders starting out tend to struggle while they find their feet in real live trading. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather minimize my risks while I’m learning to trade so that I don’t blow up my account and “run out of bullets” before I learn how to shoot.

In fact, if you’re trading on a demo account right now and getting some good results, then I would recommend migrating to Forex mini accounts sooner rather than later. That way, you’ll be able to train yourself in the art of emotional control and discipline, which are two essential skills every trader must have. It’s much harder to train these mental habits when there’s no real money at stake, and with mini accounts you don’t have to. You can risk the minimum amount possible, while still getting the full experience of what it’s like to have real money at risk.

Shopping For A Good Provider Of Forex Mini Accounts

It goes without saying that not all Forex mini accounts are created equal. When you’re searching for a good mini account broker, you should still do your due diligence and hold them up to the standards you would expect from any good full sized broker. First and foremost, you should read up on genuine user reviews and make sure that they’re not a scam operation. You’d be surprised, even names that you may be very familiar with and consider to be beyond doubt may be engaging in unscrupulous broking practices, so take your time to make the best decision. The typical Forex scam costs the victim an average of $15,000, which is a very steep price to pay for not doing your homework.

Personally, any broker that I trade with must have direct market access and straight through processing of orders. That means that they should not be taking the other side of my trades (like a market maker would) and they should not take an inordinate amount of time to put my order into the market. The last thing I want is to get re-quotes or flat out rejected orders, even if it is on a mini account, because this is still hard earned real money at stake. You should also check that your broker allows certain strategies like scalping if that’s how you plan on trading. Otherwise, you might find that all the profits you make from that particular strategy will not be honored by your broker. Yes, it’s happened with a few brokers that I don’t care to name right now, and it’s not pleasant at all when it happens.

Finally, understand that Forex mini accounts are a great tool for you to minimize risk and build up your confidence and skills for trading full sized contracts, but that’s all they are – a tool. When all is said and done, you still need to equip yourself with a solid trading strategy and strong mental habits to make a profit in the competitive Forex arena.