Full comment
tl;dr Know what you're buying, know your risk threshold, hold it as long as you can, invest frequently. It's going to sound like a stale and naive quip but buy low and sell high. I look for deals. Sometimes that's an IPO with a nice finance sheet. Sometimes it's a huge correction on a popular mega-corporation. Weather you're a value investor or a growth investor the goal is profit, right? What works for me is knowing what I'm investing in. I'm familiar with the products or services. It's a fun topic. There's lots to read out there. Sturgeons Law holds in full effect. 90% of all of it is total crap. All you need is probably at your local library. Here's some homework. Look up these terms: dead cat bounce, double top, exponential moving average, don't fight the tape, upgrades, channel, channel up, channel down, wedge, triangle, insider selling, dividends, oversold, ticker, forex, a falling knife has no handle, FUD, Irrational exuberance... fun time 45 min talk on the basics: this video