Trading platforms are basically the types of software traders use to input the trades through. Different brokers may offer their services through different platforms. Most of the FX brokers offer MT5 as it has become the world’s most popular FX trading platform. Therefore, it’ll have the most amount of education as well as automated scripts (called Expert Advisors) available.
The Forex market is made up of retail and institutional traders without a central authority such as a stock market. The traders can vary in size from the smallest individual traders to investment management firms, hedge funds and central banks. A retail trader will typically use a broker who has access to liquidity providers (large institutions who will trade with brokers). Generally, the brokers will provide an online platform on which the retail traders can execute trades.
Once the basics of FX trading is learnt by reading, the next step is to learn by doing. Still, a beginner needs not risk real money and can develop a trading strategy by using a demo account. The best way to utilize a demo account is to treat it as if your real money is on the line. This can also help the aspiring FX trader to gauge the broker, customer service, the platform and any analysis tools.
During this practice, as well as eventual real trading, it can be very helpful to keep a trading journal. This will help keep track of the trading strategies and tools used. With this, it becomes easier to refine the strategy to improve the outcomes.
Once Forex trading on the demo account becomes a comfortable experience, the trader can dip their toes into using real money. It’s still very important to keep learning new tools and refine existing knowledge. It can be hard to keep emotions out of FX trading therefore it becomes imperative to use automated trade entry and exit strategies such as stop and limit orders to ensure that the strategy is followed.
