By: Charley Warady

When a novice trader is shopping for a broker it is important to keep in mind whether or not the options of Forex size comes into play. Yes; size matters. The concept of Forex size often is ignored, but it can be the most important factor as to the longevity of the trader in the Forex market.

Dealing with most Forex brokers, as opposed to the ECN brokers, you have more choices. The ECN brokers require larger quantities traded because you are going into the deep end where the commercial traders and banks are playing. When you're dealing with brokers that are the market makers, the choices of Forex size are numerous and can be used advantageously.

Start small

The old adage of crawling before walking is true when learning to trade the Forex market, and there are a vast amount of Forex brokers that offer the novice trader the opportunity to do exactly that. When it comes to Forex size, a broker can even offer a micro account for those who only want to deposit a couple hundred dollars to begin with.

There's nothing wrong with that approach and it can often times be a wise move. You are still trading the genuine Forex market, but it is giving you more of a feel for the methods of trading before you go into it full force. Admittedly, your profit will be less; but so will your risk and loss. The first thing to realize about Forex trading is that there will always be a loss.

If you want to trade with more than pennies, Forex brokers also offer the next step up in Forex size which would be the mini trade. Again, you're not going to make your retirement on these trades, but it will get you comfortable with the platform and the procedures. You'll build up your margin account and increase your quantities accordingly.

Even for the seasoned trader, he may want to adjust his Forex size of trading when he's trying out a new strategy, or trading a Forex pair he's not quite familiar with yet. He lowers his risk and allows him to trade until he's comfortable with it. Once he gets used to it, the transition to a larger Forex size becomes seamless.

Stay consistent

An important factor in regards to Forex size is to remain consistent. Do not fluctuate and randomly throw around numbers and sizes. Your profit loss ratio will suffer when your trading is erratic. If you are trading mini contracts and are losing some money, the worst thing you can do is raise your quantities to try to play catch up. It rarely, if ever, works. If you stay consistent and stick with your plan, the tide will turn and you'll be around to experience it. Too many traders try to double down and suffer double the losses.

Even when trading full sized contracts, the quantities involved should remain stable. Do not suddenly increase the Forex size of the quantities in order make up for losses. You can gradually increase quantities if you are using a pyramiding strategy, but that would be part of the strategy and not impulse or emotion. Stay the course and you'll gain the profits.