If you are looking at 200-300 dollars, the best bet is to go with a micro account. I recently saw a new micro account from fxcm at
www.forexmicrolot.com, which lets you start off small. I personally haven't tried it yet, so I do not know what its like. A micro lot trades in units of 1000. So for a 1% margin, you can buy/sell one lot for $10. A mini lot trades in units of 10,000. So in order to buy/sell one lot at 1% margin, you will need to put up $100. This is clearly too much if you have only 200-300 dollars. Try your luck out with micro lot. It's always smart to start small, then slowly build up your bank roll. Don't try to go for the home run right away as that is the fastest way to go bankrupt. Good luck!