minicar: I plan to open a mini account with USD800. what leverage should i use? do i have the right to choose the leverage i want? i plan to start small....1:2 or 1:3. i had played a demo account for 2 months. Current P/L is USD866.91 with USD3000 account. But i'm not sure what leverage i'm using.What is the ideal capital to open a mini forex account?$800 is fine for opening your mini account. You can utilize leverage as low as 1:1 with most any broker and you can go as high as 200:1 or even 400:1. Rather than focusing on the leverage, what you should actually be focusing on is the margin. At a 5% margin on an $800 account you would be positioning $40 into the trade. At a 1:1 leverage you would be controlling only $40 of currency (less the spread or "commission"). At a 100:1 leverage you would be controlling $4000 of currency with the same $40. I would be happy to send you some more info if this is confusing for you. Paul pupp50@yahoo.comWhat is the ideal capital to open a mini forex account?Your 800 dollars to start with is good.. Most forex brokerage places have a 1:200 or 1:400 leverage, the 1:200 is better. There are a lot of good places out there to choose from. I'm looking to start trading myself in the next few months. Forex Trading is done in "lots" a standard lot is 1,000,000$ but you can trade in smaller lots with some companies that offer the mini accounts. I don't think you can go as low as 1:2, but more of 1:100. I started here http://www.samstownecenter.com/forex/hom鈥?/a> email me if you want some good forex trading brokerage firms. I did some demo's with about 6 so far.