[BionicComma]

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Well with such sage advice (and thanks for it!), can anyone suggest a method for starting a little investment portfolio? Like I said, I have some money and want to diversify. I'm open for suggestions, I just don't know how to start.

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Here's my bit of sage advice: Don't look for trading advice on a poker site, because most of the people here don't have a clue. Most of what they know, they learned in this forum from other clueless posters. Would you go to a trading site to ask for advice on how to handle a re-raise from an out of position limper pre-flop when you hold AK on the button?

That said, let's look at the basics. Do you have 30 grand? The minimum account size, by regulation, for daytrading is 25 grand. You'll need some extra for drawdowns and incidentals. If you only have 7 or 8 grand you can't daytrade stocks, but you can daytrade futures. Many similar concepts apply between the two. If you're going to do stocks, pick up a few books on daytrading and technical analysis. Forget about books on mutual funds or bonds or "value investing" because you won't be messing with any of that. You have a mountain of stuff to learn, so don't waste your time on irrelevant stuff at the beginning. Join a pay site or two like thestreet.com. The fastest way to learn, although probably not the best way, is to join a pay chat site like Pristine. It will probably cost you between $200 and $500 a month, depending on which services you sign up for. They may not be so great at making you money but they'll show you how things work. Once you've got the basics down, you may want to kick them to the curb and strike out on your own or look for trade advice elsewhere.

If you live near Vegas, go to the Money Show next month. It's free and they have both a trade show and educational symposiums. Prepare to be overwhelmed.

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This kind of advice is why I started in the investment board on a poker forum. By posting this thread I'm now armed with a plethora of good links, reading suggestions, and opinions that are more trustworthy than what I might find on at random on the internet or in the bookstore on my own.