Tim had been struggling to make it as a forex trader for the last seven years. He told his wife this would be the last system he'd ever buy.

Less than an hour later, he'd read through everything. He'd start trading in one week.

The last sentence in the big manual said "go climb Mount Fuji in Japan and get the greatest forex secret ever revealed from the wise old bearded guru sitting at the top."

The next morning, Tim told his wife that he had to go out of town on business.

Less than 48 hours later, he was scaling the side of Mount Fuji. For safety reasons, he brought an experienced climber with him. When he reached the top, he found an old Japanese man with a long beard sitting there, wearing headphones. He seemed to be meditating.

Tim could hardly contain his enthusiasm. The old man was probably listening to some Zen-like philosophy.

Tim asked loudly, "I have traveled a great distance to meet you. What is the secret to forex trading?"

The old man looked up and said, "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto."

Tim wrote that on a notepad. Then he asked, "How much does that trading robot cost?"

The old man replied, "Three days ago, my wife and I have fight. She says I hog bed. I say no. Back and forth. On and on. So I come here. Run out of food. Listen to rock music. You have cheeseburger in backpack?"

Tim shook his head.

As soon as he and the guide reached the bottom of the mountain, he called to change his flight schedule.

When he returned home, totally discouraged, he found out later that the words "I wish I could tell you that all you have to do is" had failed to print when his copy of the system had been made at the office supply store.

His email to the trading system provider got a huge laugh when he mentioned how furious he was on the flight back from Japan. They thought he was making the story up.

If you use a robot, look for one where you see lots of testimonials at the website. This means there are many people that're happy with the profits they're making.

If you're a new trader, it's a good idea to develop some familiarity with forex trading. You can't expect to buy a robot and have it running without even having a clue as to what's going on. It helps to at least know the basics like stops and limit orders, for example.

There are major advantages of robot trading, which is why it's so popular. The robot doesn't need a cheeseburger or a soda. It doesn't need anything. Just make sure you keep your electric bill paid so you can turn your computer on now and then to see how much money it's made for you.

They're fast, efficient, and don't get tired. You'll never hear a robot say, "Look, I realize the Euro skyrocketed at 3:15 am, but I was up watching a good movie last night and when the alarm went off, I slept right through it."

They can do tons of calculations very easily and work with multiple pairs effortlessly. Usually you're able to make changes to the settings if you want to. Most trading systems that sell robots will give you details about how to do this.

Robots free up your time to do other things. If you're a busy person and don't have time to trade, they're a godsend. For working people, the pros can outweigh the cons very fast.

And one of the greatest advantages is they never get emotional. I haven't done in-depth research on this, but I've never heard of an instance where a trading robot slammed its fist on the desk when it was losing money in the market. Lack of emotion is critical to trading success.

Fortunately, you don't have to climb a big mountain. Or swim across a great sea. Just find the right trading robot.