Brand Spanking New

Hi all:

I am going to be brutally honest and start by saying that I have no idea about stocks or investing but would like to start investing some of my poker winnings... Before I do this I would like to take a few months and learn the "ins-and-outs" of it as much as I can before I commit any money... What are some websites where I can start to learn the basics about "penny" stocks which is where I'll probably start and then work my way up... Any help would be much appreciated... Just to re-iterate, I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to this subject whatsoever...

Humbly yours,

JB

If anyone could point me in the right direction, it would be greatly appreciated... I would just like a few websites to begin to learn how to invest properly from the ground up... Thanks again...

[RocketManJames]

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I would just like a few websites to begin to learn how to invest properly from the ground up... Thanks again...

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Here's a start: Motley Fool Basics (http://www.fool.com/school/basics/basics.htm)

[Ed Miller]

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Before I do this I would like to take a few months and learn the "ins-and-outs" of it as much as I can before I commit any money... What are some websites where I can start to learn the basics about "penny" stocks which is where I'll probably start and then work my way up...

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Stocks aren't like poker... penny stocks aren't "low risk" like penny poker is. Quite the opposite, stocks get to be worth pennies usually because the underlying business is headed for bankruptcy.

What you'll want to do is set up a tax-deferred retirement account, fund it from your poker winnings, and stick that money in an index fund until you learn more.

An example of a tax-deferred account is an IRA: you can put up to a certain amount of money in it each year ($4k for 2005) deduct that amount from your taxable income, and it grows tax free until you take it out after age 59 1/2.

An index fund is a type of mutual fund. A mutual fund is basically an organization that pools people's money and buys securities with it (stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.). An index fund is one that automatically buys all of the stocks on a major stock index (such as the S&P 500) so that the performance of the fund will almost completely mimic the performance of the index. The advantage to index funds are two-fold

1. The process is totally automated, so no one can screw up and over-invest in something stupid.

2. The process is totally automated, so you don't have to pay somebody lots of money who is going to over-invest in something stupid.

Vanguard offers lots of competitive index funds.

Thank you so much for the tips!! Any other suggestions??

[Shoe]

Ed gives some great advice. I would max out your retirement accounts in some good funds before you start buying any individual stocks on your own.

I thought you couldn't put money in a regular or roth IRA unless it was earned income(like from a job)? So a SEP-IRA would probably be the best option?

[Ed Miller]

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I thought you couldn't put money in a regular or roth IRA unless it was earned income(like from a job)? So a SEP-IRA would probably be the best option?

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That's correct. If you have no earned income at all (or poker is the lion's share of your income), then you'll probably be declaring as a professional, and all the poker income would become self-employment income, and a SEP is a good choice.

Here are some of my favorite stock market/money management books:

The ABC of Stock Speculation (Written in 1903)

How I Made 2,000,000 in the Stock Market by Nicolas Darvas


Stock Market Profits Without Forcasting by Leon Allen (Written in the 1930's)

Investment Survival by Gerald Loeb

The Richest Man in Babylon


Good Luck

P.S

Ed is 1000% right about penny stocks.

You guys are awesome, thanks again everyone, and keep 'em coming!!! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

another great read is Real Money: Sane Investing in An Insane World, by Jim Cramer....that deals with individual stocks...but if you want to jump in with some index funds or mutual funds, Fidelity Contra Fund, run by William Danoff is considered the best mutual fund in the world...and i would expect to have them finish the year out strongly

[Shoe]

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I thought you couldn't put money in a regular or roth IRA unless it was earned income(like from a job)? So a SEP-IRA would probably be the best option?

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That's correct. If you have no earned income at all (or poker is the lion's share of your income), then you'll probably be declaring as a professional, and all the poker income would become self-employment income, and a SEP is a good choice.

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Poker income is "earned income", atleast according the following cardplayer article:

Link (http://www.cardplayer.com/poker_magazine/archives/showarticle.php?a_id=14882&m_id=65568)

So my understanding is that it can be used to fund a Roth or whatever. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Ed Miller]

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I thought you couldn't put money in a regular or roth IRA unless it was earned income(like from a job)? So a SEP-IRA would probably be the best option?

[/ QUOTE ]

That's correct. If you have no earned income at all (or poker is the lion's share of your income), then you'll probably be declaring as a professional, and all the poker income would become self-employment income, and a SEP is a good choice.

[/ QUOTE ]

Poker income is "earned income", atleast according the following cardplayer article:

Link (http://www.cardplayer.com/poker_magazine/archives/showarticle.php?a_id=14882&m_id=65568)

So my understanding is that it can be used to fund a Roth or whatever. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

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There are different ways to treat poker income. You can treat it as self-employment income (assuming you can demonstrate that you are a "professional") in which case it is qualified for IRA contributions, including a SEP.

Or you can treat it as a gambling prize, a la a slot machine jackpot. If you do it that way, then no, it doesn't qualify for IRA contributions.

EDIT: BTW, the tax code has changed a ton since that law suit. I think the article is borderline misinformation.

[LondonBroil]

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Here are some of my favorite stock market/money management books:

The ABC of Stock Speculation (Written in 1903)

How I Made 2,000,000 in the Stock Market by Nicolas Darvas


Stock Market Profits Without Forcasting by Leon Allen (Written in the 1930's)

Investment Survival by Gerald Loeb

The Richest Man in Babylon


Good Luck

P.S

Ed is 1000% right about penny stocks.

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Do any of these books teach the basics about the stock market? I have a 401k, I have an IRA, I know the difference between diversification, large carp, small cap, etc.

What I don't know about are stocks (buying and selling), shorting, options, bids and calls (wtf are these?), PE ratios, stuff like that.

I guess I need something like a stock market dictionary that would explain these things in words that don't include other market terms that I don't know.

[Sniper]

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I guess I need something like a stock market dictionary that would explain these things in words that don't include other market terms that I don't know.

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The web is a wonderful place, you might start at investopedia (http://www.investopedia.com/) to learn some of the basic terminology.

Not sure if this has been mentioned:

You don't start with penny stocks and work your way up.
You start out with the exact same stocks someone else might invest in, just smaller amounts.

Think of this as like playing $.50/1 Holdem, then working your way up to higher limits.

Buying penny stocks is more like switching to Blackjack out of boredom.

Penny stocks are very speculative, very volatile low value stocks; the vast majority of which are worth jack [censored].

Every once in a while, a low value stock takes off and a few people make good money off it. Most often, they go even lower or the companies they represent go under completely.

There are people who make big profits pimping essentially worthless penny stocks to the gullible (seen the movie Boiler Room?).

Just as you wouldn't advise someone to play Pai Gow then switch to Holdem, don't start with penny stocks

Thanks for the advice... noted... /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[buffett]

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books teach the basics about the stock market?

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Motley Fool (http://www.fool.com/investing.htm?source=LN) is free. (See links in section "Investing Education" in the green headline.)