Most forex for beginners articles and forums concentrate almost exclusively on automated forex trading robots promising that you can make enormous amounts of money without doing anything more than installing a simple and cheap piece of software.

Just think about that for a minute - if this software is so successful then why would the designers want to sell them, particularly for less than $100? The reality is that to be a successful forex trader you do need to do some and take some time to practice what you have learnt. Typically, forex robots are designed to deal with a single type of market condition during which they might make money but as soon as the underlying market price action alters your profits very quickly disappear.

The good news is that learning to trade the forex without relying on a robot is not as tricky as many people make out! It is possible to easily learn to trade the forex markets and make a healthy second income or even earn your living from trading once you have some experience under your belt.

This is because the basics of trading have hardly changed since merchants and farmers began trading centuries ago. Markets are 100% driven by humans and as such they regularly repeat the same characteristics and if you have learnt how to identify these then you can easily make money.

In general, forex markets and other financial and commodity markets are either moving in a steady direction or exhibiting more random behaviour and this is why a properly trained forex trader has a massive edge over automated forex systems - you can adapt to the prevailing market circumstances. If the market is moving in a clear trend then you need to adopt a certain trading style, if it is choppy and exhibiting more "noise" then you need to adapt your trading style or avoid altogether.

Any professional forex for beginners training course will acknowledge this fact and teach you the tools you need to operate in different market conditions. At the heart of the system will be 5 core modules: how to spot the trend, an exact entry technique, a protective stops system, money management rules and an explanation of trading psycholgy. These last modules are often misunderstood or ignored completely but any professional forex trader will tell you that if you get these aspects of your trading strategy correct then you can make money even with only an average trading system.

Once you have studied a comprehensive beginners forex course you will need to find a forex broker and learn how to use charts. Thanks to the internet this is now a very simple task and learning to spot chart patterns is also great fun and very rewarding. You should then open a practice or "demo" account and apply what you have studied before venturing into the market with your own money.

Follow these simple guidelines and you will be a successful trader. Purchase a robot and you will endure endless frustration as you keep buying one after another that don't live up to the adverts.