Purely Pump and Kool-Aid

[Brad S]

Great post by Brick.

Revised: Brick’s Guidelines for Trading Penny Stocks
(Mr Wowza inspired me to add items to this list)

These are in no particular order and are not meant to be exhaustive.

1. Do not believe what someone “heard”. They just want to sell you their shares.
2. Promotions are best played before the promotions start.
3. Do not play a promotion, unless it is clearly an intraday trade.
4. Do not hold a stock you are stuck in, hoping for an event.
5. Hold all cash at the end of the day. You can always buy the dip the next day.
6. When someone says “buy”, do not buy until you have completed your own DD.
7. If you do not get in a stock at your price, do not chase. There will be another one.
8. Ninety-nine percent of all promotions are created because someone has stock to sell.
9. Ninety-nine percent of all press releases are created because someone has stock to sell.
10. Do not buy heavy based on a press release. Buy small: get in and get out.
11. Big budget promotions means big share dumps.
12. Try to incorporate bid sitting into your trading tactics.
13. You cannot, no matter how much money you pour into it, “create” momentum. Someone will appear out of nowhere and sell their shares.
14. Large spreads means harder to get out with your shirt still on. Try to avoid these stocks.
15. Do not put a large amount of money into a low volume stock. You’ll be stuck in it.
16. Chart indicators are virtually worthless for OTC/Pinks. Only price and volume will give you a picture.
17. Take your losses early.
18. When you are ahead in a stock, take your profit. Do not wait for a homerun because they almost never happen.
19. For every homerun stock, you can find ninety-nine other stocks that were supposed to be homerun stocks.
20. Do not buy a stock on the opening bell gap. Wait for the pullback.
21. Two hundred posts on a message board overnight does not mean a stock will go up in value. It usually means that someone has shares to sell.
22. Never believe a OTC/Pink CEO. They just want the best price to sell shares so they can keep their current level of living.
23. Ninety-nine point nine percent of OTC companies will never go to a higher exchange.
24. OTC/Pink companies’ goodwill and other intangible assets are worth zero on a balance sheet, regardless of the value they put on them. See #22. Intangibles are used to prop up balance sheets.
25. Despite what many would have you to believe, OTC/Pink companies dilute their outstanding shares. If they didn’t, they would have net income quarter after quarter and be listed on a higher exchange.
26. Ninety-nine percent of all companies that “retire” shares back to the treasury want their stock price to go back up so they can issue more shares at a higher price.
27. To research a stock, and to create a “DD” post, etc. means you go against nearly every point made in this document. That time could be better spent, such as, getting in and out of several stocks in the amount of time you spent creating a DD post.
28. A company that enters a “xx” billion dollar industry does not mean they will get one dime from within that industry.
29. Treat Reverse Merger hype like a promotion. Add in the fact that many of these “new” companies will start by having an enormous reverse split to clean up the share structure for a new round of dilution.
30. If someone tells you something will happen in x amount of time, take that time and multiply it by 3 and add 2 days to it. One percent of the time, you’ll have a good number. Ninety-nine percent of the time, you’ll still be waiting.
31. Any information you receive thru a private message has probably been distorted five times by five previous messengers. Don’t believe it.
32. Any information you receive thru a private message is not given to you because this person likes you. He just wants to sell you some shares.
33. Don’t look for someone to tell you when and where to buy a stock. If you cannot determine this on your own, then you probably should stick with your day job and let a professional financial advisor handle your assets.
34. Never stop learning and read everything you can. It’s called “continuing education” for a reason.
35. Your “friend” may live next door. Your “buddy” will be someone you chat with over the internet; he just wants your money.
36. If you have more than one brokerage account, do not buy the same position in more than one account. You may be stuck in the position in both accounts.
37. Cash is King!
38. An open 504 (Form D) is the plague. Avoid the stock at all costs, unless you like odds of losing your money at 100%.
39. Shares will come off of restriction in six months or one year, depending if the holder of the restricted shares is a non-affiliate or affiliate, respectively. What this means is the float will equal the O/S after six months or one year; hence, a float of “x” in September 2010 will equal O/S in September 2011. So if someone touts a float of “x” from numbers published a year ago, he just wants your money or is not very knowledgeable, you decide which.
40. If a stock is restricted to buying at the major brokerage firms, you should write them a letter and thank them. They probably just saved your backside.
41. A triple zero (.000x) stock is a reverse split waiting to happen.
42. If a stock you hold announces a reverse split, treat it like #38 above.
43. If you see a stock that has had more than one reverse split in the last couple of years, chances are, it will have another one soon.
44. Avoid any non-reporting company. Shares are being sold, and the only way you can see it is the mysterious increased volume and/or the strange market maker parked on the ask. You may as well trade blind-folded.
45. If you play penny stocks, you must understand the game. Learn!
46. If someone has hyped a “Mega Pick Coming in “x” number of days”, what this really means is that they have frontloaded the stock over “x” number of days and will be selling you their shares.
47. For any newfound, earth-shattering DD, refer to No. 25 above.
48. There will always be a fresh round of noobies willing to part with their hard-earned money. The question is, will you help them to understand the game, or take advantage of them?