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Pastimes : Techride -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Blue Snowshoe who wrote (425)	3/18/1999 1:14:00 AM
From: Susan G	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7442

Hey Blue - I saw that 60 minutes too. I couldn't believe the one guy who said he had spent $120,000 on commissions. The younger guy with the goatee..he was clueless. You think they could have interviewed some decent traders. How about the woman who uses a punching bag after a day trading?...chill out baby. Gee, I usually take a nap :) Here's an article you and Joanie should read - very interesting. seattletimes.com

To: Blue Snowshoe who wrote (425)	3/18/1999 10:16:00 AM
From: Joana Tides	Respond to of 7442

Blue, I missed that show last night; that guy who lost all his money sure did everything wrong! The dumbest in my eyes are the 120 trades a day (20 an hour with a half hour for lunch!) and the doubling down at a loss! Did he say if he started out with one of those "Trading Classes With A Month's Trading Terminal Access" at a small broker?! I've seen folks on treads saying they're trading madly and doubling down at loss; why I wonder? It defies common sense! Hearing of someone leaping into stocks blind reminds me of a non-swimmer desperately doggiepaddling first time in the water; churning it up while trying not to drown. Doubling down at a loss is bad; and a completely different circumstance (knowing the difference takes experience) from blue-light-special buys when a Great Co.'s share price goes down on trivia (e.g. DELL "only" increased by 38%)as not exceeding earnings ests. or an expensive acquisition, etc. - when obviously they're a solid happening while pumping $ energy into The Shape Of Things To Come, and so to buy more when Opportunity Knocks...that's different altogether from doubling down a loss! This 20/20 guy couldn't possibly work on due diligence research because where would he get the time? 120 trades a day means spending the first 3 months of the year checking statements for corrections for tax filing! He probably finally went broke on paying the accountant's fees along with losing money in the market! Blue, your post made me THINK about my own successes & mistakes. So I'll share here: Did well enough (% exceeds Munder Internet Fund and all Indexes), only because I started off slow with stocks held long, studied, read, practiced imaginary trades until ready... then proceeded cautiously when adding to my repertoire of habits with how/when/what rhythms of buy/sells. Lost a couple, won most; could be better, shooting for batting 1000 of course - what else is there to try for but a Perfect Score? Big Lesson....ERRORS ON CAUTIONSIDE WON'T DRIVE ONE BROKE.... RULE ONE: DON'T TRADE STOCKS IF NOT IN TOP FORM- e.g. ill, upset. RULE TWO: DEFINE MAGNITUDES OF RISK AND ALLOCATE $$ ACCORDINGLY... (Two times I broke Rule 2, and Two times I was whacked....Never again) My two big live-and-learns in my first year of Nets were ZAP and MLRE. There were folks on both those treads who said they had all their chips in these stocks and I always shudder when I hear that. Not me, as my buy-in was a small % of technets but the buys I made were much more than my sensible limit for high-risk "possibles" so that was a big mistake...'twas all excited about the momentum & sprung. I Hate To Lose! (When playing sports as a child, I would have frisbeed a second place medal the minute no one was looking). Telling about Winning Second Place" when Techride is looking; hoping that someone like the 20/20 guy with a new chunk of money is reading our board hoping to learn about the stockmarket...Practice and learning before investing is Crucial to the point of Mandatory! "Second Place Frisbeed Medal" - Both times I lost in the market this year were similar circumstances am embarassed admitting to be "fooled twice shame on me"but I was. With ZAP/MLRE a big PR-hype about pore-talls not yet existing got me jazzed. And both times, I bought more shares than I should have at a pps high because of seeming momentum. And both times, I didn't take the opportunity to at least get the basis back when plain blind luck still increased it by 1/3 and then it reversed because I sat on it like a pink oinker. So I got second place instead of first with these losses. The rest of my picks have been much better than that...because of mega-hours, hard work, brainburn, experience, caution, & mostly... Not afraid to admit not knowing something, sharing what I do know... "Getting By With A Little Help From My Friends" 909 Pals, Joanie