I can sit here and tell you all about my positive and profitable experiences, but how much are you really going to learn by an experience where everything was done right?Those posts, and we have them here, have their place. They inspire and encourage but they don’t teach. That’s why on this site you will see both the positive and negative trades, but more of them will be the ones where I made mistakes and learned a huge lesson in the process.

I’ve said it before and believe me I’ll say it again and again, your emotions have no place in any of your trading decisions. If you think that people make it rich by playing hunches or a vibe that they had, I will tell you one of two things. Either they were very lucky or they are lying through their teeth. No matter what the reason, they took a very big risk.

In 2007 I was trading stocks in Sirius Satellite Radio and I was ahead several thousand dollars. Investors were coming into the stock and I was doing great. In the summer the announcement was made that they were going to merge with XM Satellite Radio to form one company and reduce expenses as well as increase revenue.

What I should have done there was to take my “marbles” and go home, but I figured this was the payday that I was waiting for. I’ve been a big fan of Howard Stern and subscribe to Sirius because of him. That’s where my emotions should have stayed.

Instead I took a position in the company after it dropped from where I sold out of all my shares. When the stock dropped some more because of the FCC delays on allowing the merger to go through, I bought more. At this point I was down 20% from cost basis.
After reading about all the hoopla that was circling the companies, I felt that this was all going to blow over and the stock would blast off. When the stock lost another 15% I had a feeling that this was just some sort of typical game that was being played during a long-dragged down fight between the FCC and the two companies.

At this point I lost all the profits that I made earlier in the year on the stock. I figured that I’ll make it all up once the deal was approved. I decided to buy as the stock fell. Not once, not twice, but three time.  Right after that third time, I realized this was a trade that was controlling me, not the other way around.

I was about to start selling when the news was released that the Department of Justice approved the two companies to merge. The price jumped over 33% and I was back in the green again with the trade. At that point I didn’t think anything was going to stop this from going through and I was going to hit it big.

My emotions got in the way (again) as I watched the politicians play their game in trying to destroy the companies and dragged their feet as we waited for the FCC’s word on the merger.

By the time the approval came from the FCC, the two companies had lost millions of dollars each and was expecting to lose more over the next two quarters. I held on for whatever rallies came and started to trim my position in the stock. Unfortunately by the time I got out of the stock I was down over 35%.

If you’re new to the stock market, try your hand at the free fantasy stock market out there. It might give you the experience you need without losing any money. If I had listened to my brain instead of my feelings, I would have gotten out right after the DOJ’s approval came out. I wouldn’t have made that much money, but I also wouldn’t have lost as much as I did.It’s a lesson I learned the hard way. Keep your emotions out of the stock trade. It’s the only was you will survive.

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In my travels I have found many phony programs and other types of investor “clubs” that leave something to be desired. I have also found quite a few places where, after years of being involved with, I still keep coming back for more because I find the information to be honest and straight-forward. One of those places where I’ve been going to for research and knowledge is Jim Cramer from CNBC’s Mad Money. He is also the Chairman for the web site TheStreet.com, a site dedicated to the stock market and one that I visit a couple of times a day.

I first started watching him in 2005. I found his show to be more entertaining than informative, but after awhile I realized that the show was purposely geared to make stock trading entertaining.
During the first two years that I watched his show I increased my portfolio by leaps and bounds. The man knows his stuff.

FREE JIM CRAMER – 14-day trial to Action Alerts PLUS, & his latest bestseller FREE.

For over 10 years Jim Cramer was a successful hedge fund manager and now he writes for RealMoney.com. Over the years he has developed a strict set of investing disciplines that have helped all kinds of people be successful through any market.

If you asked any average investor out there between the years of 2005-2007, they would say the man is a great source of information and that they made money from his insight. In the last year though there are people out there that don’t know the intricacies of the show and say that they’ve lost money from his recommendations. If you watch the show you would know that he even says that you should not buy stocks on his recommendations until you have done the research to see if the investment is right for you. It also doesn’t help that since October 2007 the stock market has been correcting itself as well as dealing with all the deception that the financial sector had been up to.

Through it all, Jim Cramer has given me some great insight into the stock market through a service he created Action Alerts PLUS, which allows people to follow along as he makes his own trades. Managing money with an open hand is hard. But, Jim Cramer is so committed to helping people learn that he created a charitable trust portfolio to show investors how and why he makes trades.

In Action Alerts Plus, you’ll have the ability to see what Jim Cramer recommends for the trust fund and get to trade along side him. You’ll get e-mails a couple of times a day from him depending on what is going on in the markets. He doesn’t buy or sell any stock without sending you an e-mail first and he will give you his reasons for the action that he’s taken. You also get to look at his portfolio as he buys and sells stocks.

In the time that I’ve been a member of Action Alerts Plus, I’ve gotten insight to why the markets have been taking a beaten and how to avoid losing any more money in the process. In most cases, I’ve made money as the stock market corrected itself.

I suggest giving the program a try and seeing for yourself what you think of it. Click the banner below, or in our sidebar, subscribe for a free two week trial and get a free look at Jim Cramer’s Action Alerts Plus Portfolio.

During your free two weeks, you’ll have the same exact access that all the paying members get, such as;

1. Daily e-mails that will inform you of what he planning on buying or selling and his reason for it.
2. Full access to his stock portfolio which will show you which stocks he holds, what his cost basis is, when he first bought into the stock, when his last transaction was and what his gains and losses are for each stock holding.
3. Jim Cramer’s 25 Rules of Investing.
4. Jim Cramer’s 10 Commandments of Trading.

After the two week free trial period, you have the option to sign up or cancel. If you sign up, you can pay monthly or annually.

Jim Cramer has enlightened and educated me in many aspects of the stock market and I know he can do the same for you. Try it free for two weeks and let me know what you think.

Reader Question: Do you watch Mad Money or read The Street website? What’s your opinion on it? Are you, or have you ever been a member of Action Alert Plus, and if so, what was your experience?

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