Online trading is great way for serious investors to make money, but inexperienced traders often wind up with big losses. A good set of instructions can minimize the risks and save months of expensive trial-and-error learning.Day TradingDay Trading had its heyday during the bull market of the 1990's. All the amateurs have since dropped out, but day trading is still being practiced by professionals. There are fewer opportunities in the current market, but skilled investors can still find them if they know what to look for.FOREX TradingThe Foreign Exchange Market (FOREX), the world's largest financial exchange market, originated in 1973. It has a daily turnover of currency worth more than $1.2 trillion dollars.Unlike many other securities, FOREX does not trade on a fixed exchange rate; instead, currencies are traded primarily between central banks, commercial banks, various non-banking international corporations, hedge funds, personal investors and not to forget, speculators. Previously, smaller investors were excluded from FOREX due to the huge amount of deposit involved. This was changed in 1995, and now smaller investors can trade alongside the multi-nationals. As a result, the number of traders within the FOREX market has grown rapidly, and many FOREX courses are appearing to help individual traders increase their skills.