Stock Market, anyone? - Page 2

[Sturm]

cheat is fun! But I like chess and thinking games better.

[jbennet]

mmm chess is good

[Sturm]

one the best games ever made, in my opinion.

[joshSCH]

play? Are you talking about poker or stock market trading? btw, I am not allowed to play poker either. My dad says pokers for losers....

:( I like poker lol.. He probably doesn't want to get you addicted..

I like blackjack better. I also like "fun" games like rummy, cheat, shithead etc...

well of course, you can count cards in blackjack, and have a better chance of winning.

cheat is fun! But I like chess and thinking games better.

Chess is the greatest game ever invented.. I always win :) Although, I don't think I could ever play in a time limit chess game.

[Sturm]

speed chess seams impossible....

[EnderX]

Which chess? Normal, or some of the exotic variants?

[joshSCH]

Exotic variants? I only thought there was one way to play chess..

[Sturm]

I was never aware of exotic variants....

[EnderX]

The basic rules of chess are laid out in the normal game; most exotic variants create and use extra pieces, although there are a few that use normal pieces on a modified board layout. From what I've seen, most exotic piece variants also use an enlarged board just to fit everything on it.

Examples of a few exotic pieces:

Champion: Combines the move type of a knight with that of a rook.

Archbishop: Combines the move type of a knight with that of a bishop.

(Note that these are the logical parallels to the Queen's [Rook+Bishop])

Camel: Moves as a knight, but must move three squares on the longer leg.

Black Hole: A piece not belonging to either player, which must be moved one square after each player's turn, by the player. Any piece on the square it lands on is captured/taken out of play.

Grasshopper: If I recall correctly, moves as a rook, but cannot move unless it can jump something in its path; must come down on the square immediately beyond the one it jumped.

Exotic boards:

Martian board - Just an ordinary 10x10 board, no 'special effects' involved.

Teleportation board-Two boards are laid out side-by-side. One is set up as normal, the other is left blank. After each move on either board, the piece in question is moved to the same square on the other board. Captures can be made as normal, or by landing on the appropriate square in the other board. If a move on one board would leave a piece on the same square on its own board as that of another piece belonging to the same player on the other board, the move may not be made.

Wrapped board - More of a logical thought than a new board; rows are considered to wrap into themselves, so that moving off the left side of the board deposits the piece on the right side, and vice versa. Does not apply to columns.

Those are the only exotic variants I can think of at the moment.

[joshSCH]

Wow.. I'd rather just play the normal version of chess ;)

[EnderX]

I don't think I'm good enough at the normal version...that's kind of why I like the exotics. And, of course, I'd also like to learn how to play Shogi.

[joshSCH]

shogi?

[EnderX]

A Japanese wargame similar to chess. It can get quite complicated, however. For example, almost every piece can be promoted, not just the pawn-analogues. I think my favorite from that list was that you can promote your 'Drunken Elephant' to a 'Crown Prince', sort of a spare king (or emperor in some versions, I believe).

[joshSCH]

haha.. icic

[jbennet]

I would love to see a game of that in progress

[EnderX]

Another little touch from Shogi: Captured pieces are truly 'caputured'; that is, when a player captures a piece, it becomes one of his own. The pieces are tiles, designed with a specific front and back to allow for this. (Top and Bottom are also used to mark promotions. As I said, almost everything gets to promote.)

[jwenting]

speed chess seams impossible....

why? I used to play speed chess regularly. In highschool I came second in the school tournament, loosing only the final in a 5 minute match when I made a stupid mistake under time pressure.

[Infarction]

Wow guys, that was one of the greatest hijackings I've seen in a long time...

[Sturm]

why? I used to play speed chess regularly. In highschool I came second in the school tournament, loosing only the final in a 5 minute match when I made a stupid mistake under time pressure.

O...I was thinking more on the lines of thirty seconds per player.

[twomers]

>> speed chess

Anyone watch House MD? That kid was a brat last week.

[christina>you]

Wow guys, that was one of the greatest hijackings I've seen in a long time...

Haha... I had to read the title again to see if I was in the right thread.

[jbennet]

I love going offtopic

[joshSCH]

haha, yea.. oh, wait a minute.. this is my thread.. hey, yall quit getting off topic damn it.. :D

[joshSCH]

Ok, this is for all you stock market gurus out there.. Looking for a little bit of advice.. I am trying to decide which company would be best to invest in out of these three:

Dynegy Inc. (DYN) is a company similar to Enron in which it sells and buys energy. It currently does not pay dividends. It trades in the NYSE. It has a market capitalization of 8 billion, and profited 2.44% last quarter.

Hyperdynamics Corporation (HDY) is a small oil and gas company.. It doesn't pay dividends, trades in the AMEX, and has a market cap. of 119.96 million.. I bought this stock at about $2.75/share, but sold at $1.50/share.. It recently rose back to $2.48/share.

Pfizer Inc. (PFE) is a global pharmaceutical company that does pay dividends. It trades in the NYSE and has a market cap. of 194.27 billion. Last quarter, they profited about 27%.

What other information do you use to analyze and decide whether or not to invest? Thanks for any advise! Sorry if I sound a little noob-ish, as I am obviously not very knowledgeable about the stock market.

[Infarction]

First tip: don't trade just based on someone's advice. Do your own research to make sure you agree with them. This doesn't mean to ignore them, just not to blindly follow.

I'll start with HDY: avoid it. My reason is simple, it just doesn't have enough volume. This makes it more prone to quick jumps and less liquidity. If nobody's trading it when it drops, you'll never get out.

DYN: Bearish outlook. While it's at a several year high, it looks like it's currently running on fumes. Also, it's got a very low value, which leaves litte room for movement one way or the other. I wouldn't touch it, personally. There's bigger fish to fry.

PFE: It looks like it'll break one way or another soon, but cant' tell which. Earnings on July 19th will likely be a driving force, and chart patterns suggest that it could go either up or down. I'd not touch stock on it, 'cause you have to pick sides. It might be feasible to try a 27.5 straddle with September or December options, but the stock'll have to move a few points in either direction to make it profitable; it's not been particularly volatile in the last year though, so the odds of that happening are probably low. Also, 28 has been a point of resistance in the past, so breaking it will require a bit of a push...

Overall: find something more attractive :icon_wink:

[joshSCH]

Hmm.. Thanks for your advice. What stock do you think will do well in the months to come?

[Infarction]

I haven't been keeping tabs on any, so I can't really say. These are just a few I've pulled up real quick.

Apple (AAPL) has been doing great for the last couple years for a longer term perspective. IBM has done well over tge past year, and has even broken out ot a 5-year high about a month ago. Boeing (BA) has also been making a good run. Federated Dept. Stores (FD) has been following a pretty good channel for the last year or so. You'd have to play it in pieces, but it could work. Noble Energy (NBL) and Xto Energy (XTO) have also been pretty steady for a few years. Stryker Corp (SYK) has had a very good year as well.

Mind you, I just ran through my old list of things and picked a handful based on their long term trends. And again, go over everything yourself before getting into a trade.

[joshSCH]

Ok, thanks. I'll have to look into those.

[jwenting]

"First tip: don't trade just based on someone's advice. Do your own research to make sure you agree with them. This doesn't mean to ignore them, just not to blindly follow."

Second tip: spread your investment. Never put all your chips in a single basket.

Third tip: never buy small volume. The brokerage fees will take forever to offset.

[joshSCH]

icic.. thanks.

On Wednesday and Thursday (since I'm off work) I'm going to see how much I can make day trading.. I'll have MSNBC on, and try to find some stock that is in the news, and supposed to do well.. Buy, wait until inflection point (or somethn that I perceive as one) then sell.. :)