All things are possible, but miracles are extremely rare and hard to predict. While there are average returns, there are also people to whom those averages don't apply at all. This is a skill and talent; those who are really good are often very successful. I'm fortunate enough to fit that category; for example I have an account I manage for a brother that has grown 840% in five years and includes several stocks. Earlier this month I gained $6200 in 30 minutes on an options trade. Success comes from getting in (and getting out) of the right stock at the right times, which to most people will look like the wrong stock and wrong time.

However, for the first couple years I invested, I lost money steadily. I consider that loss tuition, the cost of learning the game. If you approach investing like gambling, the odds are against you. That means you can win big on a single deal, but if you keep playing the same way the odds will beat you in the end. Wise investing is not gambling- but many investors are not wise, and many aren't mentally wired to play the game well even though they may be very intelligent in other areas.

One more thing. For the most part- penny stocks are a fools game. It is the area where hucksters and manipulation thrive, where honest information is nearly non-existent. The people who make the most money there are the ones pulling the strings, not the ones "investing". Some do profit by accident, but it is just that.

In real life there are millions of people that would be extremely happy to get a 20% return annually.

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To start trading stocks, you will need to open an account with a brokerage house such as Scottrade or TD Ameritrade. They will have you fill out some forms and then you put money into your account. The money must be in your account and verified before you can begin to order trades.

You select the stock you wish to own and place your order with the brokerage either by phone or online electronically. The brokerage makes the trade for you, usually within seconds during the stock trading day. Selling your stock is just as easy and can also be accomplished in seconds.

You aren't really selling the stock to the broker. The broker is selling it for you on whichever stock exchange that trades it.

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Invest in a cyclical stock, a company which will do well in good economic times and not so well during a recession. Examples: Caterpillar. Buy in the depths of a recession and sell during the recovery.

Buy 200 shares of a company in which you have confidence. If/when the stock doubles, sell 100 shares. You have your original investment back and the remaining 100 shares is profit. What happens here is investors get greedy. When a stock doubles in price, people hold on hoping it will double again. I say, be conservative, take some profits.

I am new to this but I've been studying up, getting ready to start investing. I think I'm just going to buy into broad funds - mutual funds, index funds - and let it ride the growing market.

To buy low and sell high you study several stocks for a long time, watching them for some kind of regular cycle in the up and down of their stock price. Then buy when it's low, sell when high, wait for it to go back down, buy again etc. You will need a scottrade account and you'll have to watch the market a lot. You'll need a lot of money in to make it worth it as I think you'll lose some money to fees for every trade. Apparently yes, you hit sell and it sells. I'm still not sure how that works but it seems to be the case.

Example starting with $10,000 and a stock that has historically fluxuated between $80/share and $90/share:

When the stock is at $80/share you buy $10,000 worth, givinig you 125 shares.

The stock reaches $90/share you sell and get $11,250.

When that stock goes back down to $80/share you buy $11,250 of stock which gives you 140 shares.

When it goes back up to $90/share you sell out again and make $12,600. Repeat.

Picking the perfect stock that is going to explode 5,000% is very unlikely.

Hey Matt,

If the stock at high, which mean someone there to buy at the price. I wouldn't go to the price, otherwise. There is two price set

1. "Bit Price" - someone willing to buy the stock at the price. If you set your selling price equal to the bit price, you can sell it right away.

2. "Ask price" - someone willing to sell the stock at this price.

Open a practice stock portfolio in yahoo / google, and play with them for few months before you put your real money into the market.

A game may be a lot different from real life!

I am fairly new to the stock world in real life, but in a game I have, you can just sell stocks that explode like 5,000% above their original price, before it falls back down, and hence you make a ton of money.

My question is that is it really that easy to sell a stock like that? Do you have to actually find a buyer? or do you just sell the stock back to the exchange?

If anyone is feeling ambitious, the stock is on the OTC Markets Exchange.

Thanks in advance!--Matt