If you by air pocket, you mean a precipitous, violent drop ..
these pump and dumps rarely trade in that fashion.
It is advantageous and far more profitable to methodically drain the "patient" of "life" opposed to simply pulling the plug.
The favored model, put simply, is:
1.) Develop a vibrant online following.
2.) Run the stock up on rumors of "big news" to embolden the current following and attract fresh money. This helps to create a sense of positive reinforcement of the "herd's" decision making. It also helps to create a "guru class" in the eyes of the new investors. These "gurus" will help immensely when it is time to cash in.
3.) When a sustainable base of shareholders is achieved, begin the cash out process by forging deals with vulture capital firms. i.e. Accept chunks of money in consideration for assigning certain rights that create incentives to systematically short the stock (convertible paper equipped with moving conversion levels is current one favored method of achieving this).
4.) Work in concert with your new financial partners to assist them in extracting full value. This is accomplished through "dangling carrots" and "leaked news", here the "gurus", acting as conduits, can be of immense assistance. Important- the future must remain optimistic but always a moving target - "the big news is coming, we know it is, we just can't put our finger on exactly when to expect it. Don't worry about the stock price, go mow the lawn. Etc.". Message boards are the preferred conduit, though emails and spam can be employed to supplement the operation. The endless cycle of hype and letdown is beneficial to both parties as the financiers get the greatest possible return on investment while insiders receive follow-on offerings (more money).
5.) Never retreat, never surrender. The resolve of shareholders must be broken, their pride crushed and their financial losses so great that they never speak of them lest they risk facing further humiliation and embarrassment from friends, family and others they've persuaded into the stock. This serves as a protective measure to keep legal and regulatory pressures at bay. It feeds on the psyche of the average OTCBB "loser"; specifically the "gamblers" the market tends to attract - those who only speak of their winnings and keep silent about losses. Hey, they were not sophisticated enough to avoid the trap you set, so they are unlikely to be sophisticated enough to see through the endless smoke and mirrors constructed to obfuscate the operation.
6.) If followed correctly, fortunes amass and your antagonists - the shareholders you've bilked of their savings - rendered impotent by embarrassment and humiliation. Simply keep repeating "We're all losing here. No one is happy with the outcome so far but there is nothing left to do but hold out hope for better times".
7.) If young and greedy enough, reemerge, rinse and repeat in a new venture. Preferably a completely different industry, under a new alias (or better, behind the scenes).
There you have it, the seven steps to making a fortune in penny stocks.
