If You Must Speculate, Learn the Rules

Haphazard dabbling in stocks by amateur traders undoubtedly is dangerous. The odds are all in favor of losing money. The risks can be greatly reduced if the trader only would make some attempt to learn the rules of the game. Driving an automobile is dangerous, and few people attempt it without first learning something of the mechanism of the car. But any death-dealing machine can be made safe through knowledge of its working parts and possibilities. -from the Foreword There are common-sense rules for even the most daring investment speculation, even in a precarious economic environment… as in the wake of the dramatic stock market crash of 1929. This guide to smart speculating offers sound advice on determining whether you’re really cut out for speculation, what warning signs in your financial situation should steer you toward safer investing, the best way to use margin trading, how to find reliable information on stocks, why you should shun all tips, why you should be a “bad loser,” and much more. Not just a historical guide to one of the most unstable periods in American economic history, this is a useful primer for today’s investor, too.