Introduction

Hello, this is my finance blog. Just a quick introduction, most of you who will be reading this are either family or already know me from my poker blog. Much like when I first started my poker blog, this blog is here because currently investing and the stock market are a passion of mine, but I do consider myself an amateur investor, and not a professional. Like when I started my poker blog, I feel that both forcing myself to put my thoughts and actions into written form will help make me a better investor. In the process, I hope all of you get something out of it, but I am by no means a market professional, and I do not recommend that anyone take anything I put here as "advice".

This is simply an account of my activities and thoughts on the current market. I will make updates when I make changes to my positions and/or watch list, and I will make updates on my current thoughts on the market.

As far as basic philosophies go, I really think a lot of the same qualities that make someone a good poker player will make them a good investor. Things like managing risk, +EV, and properly managing your bankroll are just as important in both worlds. So are not necessarily being results oriented (but always being aware of results) and not throwing good money after bad chasing losses. Poker players with good bankroll management skills and discipline I think make excellent investors, as at the heart of things both disciplines are about finding appropriate risk/reward scenarios and acting on them appropriately.

I'm a big Jim Cramer fan. I've read both his books (reading his newly released 3rd right now), follow most of his investing rules and philosophies, and I watch his TV show 'Mad Money' every day. For those of you who don't know him or don't watch him his methods are a bit eccentric, but his goal is to keep people (especially college aged people and my generation) interested in stocks. If you can get past some of the goofy gimmicks and noises, the information is the best out there I've found when used right. I visit his site The Street as well as the pay Real Money portion of his sight and a few of his newsletters. So a lot of what I will say here may sound like some of what he says. I do all my own homework, but his thoughts and resources weigh heavily on some of my opinions.

Here's what I won't do on this site though. I'm obviously not going to re-post or re-print any information I pay for, as I have no interest in finding myself in any legal trouble. I will discuss things freely available, I will discuss some of the moves I make daily as well as why, and post changes I make to my watch list. Hopefully it will prompt some interesting discussion and I'll learn here. I hope you all enjoy it, and as I said before, this is not intended as advice so I obviously accept no responsibility for any money anyone may make or lose if they listen to what I say.

-Rizen