To make real money on the international forex market, you will need to be in a position to take smart, informed decisions and this will depend on your advisors and your training. While training is discussed else where in this series, in this piece we will talk about the selection of a forex broker, which is also critical to your success as a forex trader. Now what is a forex broker? For a beginner in the business of forex trading or e-currency trading, the forex broker provides access to the forex market and also acts as an intermediary between you, the trader, and the market. Additionally, the broker or agent will offer advice to clients to enable them to improve their forex trading ability.

A forex broker will explain various forex trading strategies to his or her client and will assist in their process of putting these strategies to work. The advice will typically include technical analysis approaches and research methodologies followed by experienced traders and brokers that boost the client trader's performance as a forex trader.

In the earlier days of forex trading, the banks and large financial institutions had sole access to the forex market, but now with the advent of the internet technology, things have changed. As more novice traders have taken up forex trading as a home based business, the forex brokers are also realizing the importance of this trend and moving away from the conventional banks. An increasing number of forex brokers are operating through internet based businesses and offering customers a complete suite of services totally based online. Today's forex brokers recognize that their customers are no longer the rich individuals or large institutions and have tailored their forex trading strategies to conform with the needs of their new, home based, middle class client. They know that the stakes for this type of client are lower and that they wish to maximize their profit but have a different appetite for risk. Also, in terms of certification, it is useful to work with an NFA (National Futures Association) member broking house.

Forex brokers that offer sound advice and have well recognized and verified credentials are, of course, the ones that you should be looking for. Additionally, don't rely blindly on the advice of a forex broker. If it doesn't sound right, may be it isn't. Learn to trust your own judgment and ask your forex broker lots of questions. A reliable broker won't be bothered by this.

Be guided by your needs and your level of ability as a trader in your choice of a forex broker. It will typically depend on whether you are a novice or an experienced forex trader. There are specific forex trading brokerages online that are targeted towards the beginner in forex trading. These will generally offer detailed research material and plenty of advice for the newbie trader. Additionally, these types of firms will provide access to forex trading software that will simulate the real trading environment and help to make the forex trader accustomed to using the tools of the trade.

For more experienced forex traders, this type of detailed instructions may not be required since these individuals will know their way around the forex market. For them, there are different forex brokerage firms that will offer advice with a greater emphasis on the logic behind the forex trading strategy and will go into greater depth on this matter. To find the best fit, read about various forex brokers, ask friends, ask about the forex broker's package offering and take the trials offered by a few of the online forex trading firms.