That must be some book.

Seriously though your not going to 10x your investment in a year just through trading.

X-post

Hi..

I'm from the UK and have been playing poker for the past few years and only seriously for the past ~18 months. I started with a bankroll of £8k and during that time period now have over £400k/$640k playing both live and online with the vast majority coming from online play.

I dropped out of university during this period as I wasn't motivated at all as to what I was studying and just decided to focus on making a bunch of money while I can. I've always been really interested about trading/investing and have been trying to get advice from a few people some of whom have been a big help.

I've always been careful with money, I'm not a big splasher/baller and very modest and humble. I know that I'm not going to be playing cards for the rest of my life and it just seems like trading seems the most suitable job for me, although I understand that since I have little qualifications, it's very hard to get hired by prop firms. I'm in the process of reading a few books which I find really interesting but this whole world of trading seems like a humongous mountain to climb and quite frankly I don't really know where to start...

I really do apprecaite all your help/advice in advance!

Well, if expenses total around $4200 every month, typically you'd only "need" something like 25k in the bank. Maybe more if you were saving for something big, like a house, but since you got that covered I think you're okay to put your money to work without having to be as concerned with losing principal.
What rate is your mortgage loan? Some programs allow you to refi even if you're underwater, but I don't think rates have fallen enough in 1 year to justify the new closing costs you'll incur. Take a look at it though. Feel free to pm if you're in CA. If not, you should be able to find a broker who would be able to tell you if it's too close and shouldn't bother.
Paying down the student loan isn't the worst option. Personally, I would rather have $100k in both assets and liabilities than $0.00, but you said your income is just over expenses, so maybe it makes sense to knock it out, better your cash flow, and put exactly the amount you were paying monthly towards investment accounts. (mutual funds, etc)

So, with the rest, do some house-cleaning. Make sure you and your wife have retirement on track. Do you have enough in your IRA and 401(k)? Do you have the right life, health, homeowners, disability, and auto insurances? Start putting a portion of your savings in places where you can earn more than the bank. If there's 50k, you can have it directly managed or at least get into fee-based programs. If below 50k, make a well-balanced portfolio, or participate in one (index/trusts/mutualfunds). 5 years is a pretty long time for the "shortest-case scenario", so invest in it.

Country you live in: Texas
Income: I could stand to put in like 500 extra per month
Risk Tolerance: I don't know, but I won't keep up if I lose my initial roll.
Timeframe for investment: a few months
Debt: none
Any other information you might have that would help us

Never invested before, but I'm sticking about 600 in a portfolio soon. I want to invest in PWRD, or ATVI.

You are planning on investing this money for just a few months? Put it in a savings account.

Per investment, for the most part, yes. From two months to six or so. But why would I put small amounts of money into a savings account (for only a couple months) when I'm looking to move money around every few months? Especially when the return rate for a savings account is very little? (I'm serious, why would it be better?)

What are you saying? How long do you want to invest this money? Is this money you want to invest for six months and then use for something? If you want the money for some particular use, then there is no reasonable investment for a less than six month time frame. Just put the money in a bank and use it in six months.

Having said that, your post is entirely unclear, so it's hard to say.

I want to get some stocks, let them sit for a few months, sell and look around again. How do you not get this? Per investment, I want the money to sit around for a bit, like a few months, then move it around, say like buying stocks from a different company. Isn't this short/intermediate trading?

Why would I want to put it in a bank when I'm looking at less than 1% return each month?

Gnarly, I don't understand why you are seeking advice since it sounds like you've already made a decision?

You originally asked about investments. That's different from trading, thus the confusion on my part. I have no suggestions for trading other than I'd advise against it. Good luck though.

Go read it..and go learn how to trade and come back and say one cant make 10x their $$ in a year through trading.

You want to make a side bet on that? b/c i can turn 10k into 100k in a few weeks in any market.

lol.

if you can turn 10k into 100k in a few weeks, you must be looking for some pretty serious action on that sidebet to make it worth your while.

Its not even about the $$ on the side bet. Its just to prove a point to people that have NO idea what they are talking about when it comes to the market..even the guy above your post with the "lol" reply. Advising against trading b/c he has no clue on how to do it, and giving that advice thats based on his lack of knowledge.

Ive had multiple people PM me from this thread, and one is already trading and making $$ from what Ive taught him. Its not rocket science on how to trade and make good $$ doing so.

sickfade,

What stakes would you like to wager, and what odds are you offering?

Why go through all this when you can just learn how to get rick quick by ording the Get Rich Quick Plan from late night cable for $199.99? Think about it.

Fact.

Considering in the past month I've taken 10k->30k not even trading full time, this is definitely doable. I average about 30% profit per trade.

I guarantee that sickfade can do this.

I won ten hands in a row, this proves that earning 5,000 bb/100 is sustainable at 6-max.

this thread is about investing, not trading, so take your trader-peen waving somewhere else k thx.

also, lol astroturfing. WHERE IS SUZZER? (er, wait, what forum am i in? sorry about that.)

maybe you don't understand.... investing only makes money in UP markets.

You HAVE to be a trader in these markets...Otherwise you DO NOT make money, unless you're doing insider trading.

If you think I am wrong, then look @ all of the major funds this year. These people are paid to invest.

If you ONLY want to invest, you have to sit in cash in markets like this, unless you like losing money. Plus you need to learn how to value a company (learn finance and accounting), learn to read the Q and K for each company, and do 10s of hours of research before investing in a company. Learning all of these skills take years - if you are just starting out and want to be an 'investor' good luck with that... might as well just give your money to a CFA and hope he's smarter than you... btw if he was that good, he'd be self employed and trade for himself. So good luck finding a smart CFA who likes to invest for others and make them a ton of money instead of making himself money.

You obviously have no clue what you are talking about so stfu.

...and reported.

btw, if anyone is wondering who i am and what i'm doing here, i've been trying to write a "i have XX money to invest" post but keep having to run off and do homework because i'm a noob. in the meantime, i subscribed to this thread to keep an eye on it and hoooo boy. hope you regs don't mind a little freelance counter-trolling .

I dont care who you are. The fact that you tell people to go elsewhere when you obviously know NOTHING about the markets and how to invest or trade makes you an ass. You THINK you know what you are talking about... but you are leading people down a path that will LOSE them money.

Rule #1, when you dont know a lot, dont open your mouth (or write a post giving advice, or dissuading other people from giving GOOD advice). You need to LISTEN, and LEARN.

The fact of the matter is "I have XX money to invest, where should i put it" is the wrong question. Stop trying to GUIDE a conversation when you know little to nothing about the subject matter.

I'm pretty sure anyone who goes around screaming about how smart they are is almost never that smart.

And, Tyler, if you have a question about something just ask it.

Ever watch someone lose 10k in a day investing because of bad advice? I do - me 10 years ago when i was a beginner

When you see morons spewing misinformation causing others to lose money you need to speak up. Nothing irritates me more than others talking about something they dont fully understand. I guarantee you if left alone, this thread would end up in some person losing money that they couldn't really afford to lose.

What's that quote from the boondock saints? 'the real tragedy is that good people stood by and did nothing'

I'm not telling people what TO DO, I'm telling people what NOT to do.

Go on and 'invest' if you want if you doubt me. Lose money - I've done my job. I'll sleep a little better knowing someone didnt lose money because of me, and i'll feel really good when the arrogant clowns who THINK they know stuff did it anyways and learned a lesson the hard way

Hubris is a bitch.