Wasting time learning and dealing with C is a pretty bad idea considering OPs reasons for learning programming.

You have to start somewhere. It's better to do something than to ask and do nothing.

The course is more than just learning C. It teaches you syntax, loops, and how to create simple programs (at least in the beginning). Those are building blocks to step up to other languages. I have experience in Java, C#, and now C. They have a lot of similarities. Nothing is stopping anyone from branching out once they have the basics.

Has anyone included poker on their resume? I'm trying to explore how best to articulate my skills and experiences from poker to someone from the real world.

I am potentially going to be moving overseas to play online for awhile. Am I able to open a foreign bank account while in the U.S.?

Should I make the foreign bank account in their currency or can it be in dollars?

Where is my potential edge as an individual investor?

When I'm investing myself, I can't execute trades quickly nor do I have more fundamental information than many of the professionals.

I imagine that most of the people on this forum are in the same boat.

A few areas come to mind:

1. My positions are very small. This gives me lots of flexibility to build a large position in any given stock relative to my overall bankroll and not cause as much as a ripple in the market. This also allows me to buy and study micro-caps that larger firms are not able to do.

2. I don't have external pressure from partners or clients to outperform each quarter. My job doesn't depend on me taking major risks hoping to hit it big and get more clients.

That said, I'm sure there are excellent pros that have all that and then some. So - where can a guy like myself (with his own BR to invest) develop an edge in the overall market?

Where should I concentrate my time/energy if I want to feel like I have a quantifiable edge in the long term?

I am going to translate this for you:

"Where is my edge as a poker player?

I don't have a fossil card protector or any fancy sunglasses nor have I studied the game enough to know what I am doing.

I imagine some of you other fishes are in the same boat.

1. I have a really small roll so I should be able to double my money fast. I also have the ability to jump into higher stakes, that I'm not rolled for, and double even quicker.

2. I don't have a coach or a skype group where I can go to help me talk through hands. I'm not a pro so I don't have to make too much money.

That said, I'm sure there are excellent pros that have all that and then some. So - where can an amateur like myself develop an edge in a poker room full of professionals?

Where should I concentrate my time/energy if I want to feel like I have a quantifiable edge in the long term?"

Hope this helps.

This is actually can be a big edge and I'm sure Ahnuld would agree. An account or a fund that is <$50m can look at very different opportunities compared to a fund that is $500m +.

This isn't an issue for 99% of investors.

This is kinda like me stating that one my advantages to becoming an Olympic runner is that I am almost in shape since I weigh less than 500 lbs. While its true that weighing under 500 lbs is an advantage to being a sprinter, 99% of the population also weighs under 500 lbs so this isn't really an advantage over the majority of people.

I really wish i had bought Visa at $170 But didn't have any cash or money to invest. Case in point that its good to have money in cash for great opportunities.

The point is that most people neglect this advantage. If you have a small account it would be more advantageous to study small companies as they are neglected by the bigger and smarter players. Most people are trying to figure out if they like GOOG better than JNJ and there is no edge there. Mega cap companies are priced much more efficiently than small caps.

lol

Why is that funny?

[x] individual stocks
[x] market timing
[x] "extra" cash

If you have sufficient money to throw at the market, it makes sense to invest in individual stocks. With half a million or more, investing in funds is just a waste of money even at .05% expense ratios.

The way every rich investor has gotten rich is by buying things when no one else has the capital to invest.

You can only be so diversified. The benefit ends far below the level of "crap, I'm just buying everything." I'm fairly sure that I remember that even you have an oversized investment in small caps. I'm quite sure that you have zero direct allocation to volatility even though it would add extra diversification.

Is there any merit to the argument:

Retail investors buy/sell/trade/etc mega caps stocks, like GOOG or APPL, there can be great inefficiencies?

They can't move those stocks.

Im diversified, and i bought most of it at the same time.

I continually have more money to invest as i continue to earn it.

I can see that discussing anything slightly out of the Bogle/Buffett wheelhouse you think is "lol" so, you don't have to comment on my posts.

Even though i wholeheartedly agree with and understand your principles.

Im interested in going further than that.

As has been pointed out to you even Bogle and Buffett make exceptions. There are no absolutes.

And furthermore, people who just follow other people's thinking don't go through any of the actual steps to learning, which is essentially intellectually lazy.

Everyone's tolerance level and situation is different.

You dont know me, so i think at the very least you should save your ego the "lol i feel better now because i proved i was right on the internet" because it actually doesn't make you feel better. Being cool and helping people is a better option.

The "bigger and smarter players" do not neglect small companies. No, there is no merit to this argument. Reason: small cap mutual funds

There are always going to be opportunities that you wish you didn't miss. Did you not have any cash or were you not that confident in the opportunity? (aka: could you have sold another position if you knew V was going to the roof?)

You're missing the point, and small cap mutual funds have nothing to do with the pricing inefficiency prevalent in small caps. I'm not arguing that there is an edge in simply being long a bunch of small caps.

The argument is that for investors/funds that are actively managing and repeatedly turning over a portfolio, will find more alpha in the small cap space for a simple reason. The best analysts in the world want to play at the highest possible stakes and manage giant funds so they are limited to following companies where they can take $50,000,000+ positions in. Thus they neglect following companies with tiny market < $200m market caps, which are still big enough for normal people like us to take relatively large positions.

It's exactly the same how the stakes in poker work. As the stakes/profit potential increases so does the strength of the competition.

Granted is wasn't the smartest post I've ever made on 2+2, but my point is that its good to be patient and maintain some buying power. If thats market timing, so be it.

I bought a large diversified portfolio containing mostly ETF's all at once.

I regret it because i wasn't as knowledgeable as id like to be, and got into positions i didn't fully understand at a bad time. Had i taken a year to move into each sector i would have been better off. If i could do it again today, the portfolio would look much different.

note: groundzero noob

what is the purpose of maxing tax-advantage space compared to investing? why not just dump that money into SPY?

(is it just risk?)

Wow. Super noob. Almost cape-worthy.

You can invest in tax-advantaged space. You get to invest in tax-advantage space. It isn't a strange place other than that it is tax-advantaged. It is a place where you get to invest money in stocks and bonds or whatever and pay less tax. The entire purpose of the space is for you to invest in things.

hahah, ok :P i see, i see. that makes sense.

i hope you're ready for more super newbie queries.

You have no idea how many intelligent people that do not know this.

I don't think I'm missing your point. I just disagree with it.