Reply #36: First off, don't listen to Cramer

[zagging]

Read up on him. Nobody knows where he's coming from except his very well heeled friends, and I would guess they're in on the gig before anyone else.

My advice: Pick a subject you like or know something about, study the companies in that sector, pick a few stocks and track them for a while. Six months minimum. Read all the message boards and goole EDGAR for the SEC filings on the companies you're interested in. Read it, digest it and try to learn the importance of the filings. Read up on stock manipulation, and definitely learn how options affect the market.

In this time, you should be able to learn how and why the price per share is affected by press releases, sec filings, and institutional investors. If Cramer mentions your stock, you'll also see how a simple word can blow the top off, or the bottom out of, your issue.

A few rules:

1 Don't get emotionally involved.
2 It's a bare assed gamble. Only gamble what you can afford to lose.
3 Set your sell price on the up and down sides before you get in, and get out if you strike that price.
4 You're not the captain. Don't go down with the ship.