Goodness so much has happened in the week since I last updated.
I've been to a poker evening with £2,000 in the pot. I've been to Legoland. I've been to Kempton Park Races.. I've been to a Palace. In fact where haven't I been?
I just haven't got the concentration span or in fact the energy left to write all these things up so I'm going to take it one story at a time over the next updates in time order.
Right the poker evening was first so let me get going with majoring on this story today.
So my first ever game of Poker. Me versus some of the best brains in the City and some bankers..
How did I get on then (patience, patience.. which is the only card game I've played in years)
Remember I was told to bring £80 but "maybe" a good idea to bring £150. Of course I knew that really meant
about £300..
Just as well, because that's what I had to spend on chips!
It was all proper. In the home of a top finance guy from a big bank there was a real croupier handling the game.
These guys tend to play each other a lot so they know each other's games - and as you can imagine there was quite a lot of alpha malery there .. I decided to play the Beta Male card.
Bottles of beer proferred and I talked to a few of the guys beforehand. One was .. a market-maker who was probably surprised at the amount I knew about what he got up to.
Yes, all those stories I tell you about market-makers at my seminars was confirmed again. Those of you who've come to a seminar know the word I am talking about!
So, yes, they play with your mind, yes they push the price of your share down to make you sell and yes they know all about where your stop loss is!
I sneaked into the poker room to get a little beginners' lesson from the croupier. Surprisingly, he told me, most of the games were won with quite poor hands.
He also said a lot of it was skill and the odd bluff here and there could pay off. Oh and he reckoned "calling" is for wimps. Either fold or raise he reckoned - that's what the best players do.
I was eyed with a little suspicion at the table, after all I was an unknown quantity but as a beginner I was written off..
Actually they seemed a nice bunch of lads, all younger than me, but obviously they didn't get to the top positions in the city without being ruthless and pretty clever.
I decided to do the Beta thing, asked lots of questions and looked a bit helpless.. well in truth I was a bit helpless as I was never quite sure whether I should be saying call, check or raise but the croupier kindly helped.
There were two rounds.. the first was for lower stakes .. then the idea was to have a break for pizza and then the final round which would be to bigger stakes.
The cash was duly flashed, chips bought.. the pot ended up being £1,400 for the winner, £450 for second and £200 for third place.
"Looking forwards to the next bonus," said the banker next to me. "Or maybe in this climate I shouldn't be saying that.."
They seemed a little bemused that I happily made money on my own account and didn't work for anyone.
They all work hard - in the office by 7am mostly and often not through till 7pm.
So the first round took place and my pile of chips soon started to disappear. I found the gameplay fascinating and in the main folded and stayed out of it trying to work out how the good players operated.
I didn't have that many chips left by the pizza break so I bought some more to give me a fighting chance when it got serious - so I spent all the £300!
Before the break it has been reasonably lighthearted but now the stakes were raised there was quite a bit of tension in the air. I immediately decided I needed a good win to give me some chips.
So I bluffed. I went in and raised and raised on some rubbish hand I had.

It came down to a massive pot as all dropped out except for one. He ummed and ahhed, I knew I was out of the game if he didn't fold.
It was quite agonising he took ages trying to suss me out.

I pretended to be really excited about my duff hand... then.. all of a sudden .. he folded leaving me with a giant number of chips.
I decided the best plan was to hold onto the chips while some of the alphas tried to blow each other out.
I then got some good hands and I raised and got even more chips. Gradually people went all in and started to depart. A big surprise to me when I was still in with just three of us left. Me and the two good players!
I stayed out of it hoping the other two would destroy each other and lucky for me there was a giant hand and one got knocked out.. leaving me and one other!
I got two kings and decided to go for it. So did the final opponent and the hand ended up as a giant showdown with the winner taking all as we both went all in.
Cards were turned over. Unbelievably he had two kings too.. it took a few seconds for the croupier to declare... the other guy the winner for whatever reason, probably a higher card next or something.
Still I was delighted with 2nd place and the £450 second prize though I'd spend £300 on chips. Still I'd come expecting to lose £300 so to profit by £150 was a real bonus.
Well, until I got home.. "We owe the cleaner £150," said Mrs NT. Oh, well never mind. It comes, it goes.
I'd definitely play again. A fascinating game of skill, luck and some psychology. If you get invited to a game, go for it!!
Right what else. Legoland, the races and more. My fingers are tired now (ahh diddums) and so you will have to wait till Friday's update for more!
But I can say toddler Christopher had a wonderful bank holiday weekend full of fun and surprises and we had a lovely one too, it's great seeing things from the eyes of someone new to the world. More on Friday.
My May 15th seminar is sold out, sorry to disappoint some of you - but the next one which is already filling up is June 26th.
And even better there is again an early booker discount for that! if you are interested in June's event please mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "June seminar interested" in the subject line. And I will send you details. It's held close to Heathrow Airport.

My seminars are designed for beginners, dabblers and improvers and deals with everything from how to look for winners, how to research, spreadbetting, level 2 use how to time trades and short, how to use advfn properly and run your portfolio without having to spend money on systems and tipsters.. and tons more.

A lot of the day comes directly from the live markets and I show you many of the tricks I use to get good prices live. And there might even be the odd live trade or 2!

There is more detail on the seminar below. Already looking forwards to meeting all of you coming to the May event!
Thanks for the great spreadbetting stories - winning and losing stories for my upcoming spreadbetting book welcome at.. thenakedtrader@aol.com (spread stories ONLY to this address please!! -please use my normal address for anything else).

Did you lose spreadbetting? Why and what happened? Or have you found it easy and you're a winner? Tell me! Anyone whose story I use gets a free copy.

Hurrah! Spreadbetting firm Tradefair (Betfair's sister) has upped its offer exclusively to Naked Trader readers to a £100 credit!
I've been using them for a few weeks to check that I'm happy with the service. As you know I don't take ads or allow referrals on the site unless it's a company I've used and I feel confident about.
What I like about it is it's easy to use, spreads are surprisingly tight on the smaller companies and interestingly an automated stop loss is applied to each trade - so beginners know what their max loss is from the outset.
Anyway they now offer a £100 credit as long as you deposit £100. You get the credit after you placed 2 trades (non equity)

If you'd like to open an account with Tradefair and get the freebie and try them out e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "Tradefair" in the subject line and I'll send you info on how to claim the new £100 credit.
Still with BT for your phone line? Why? Move over to Utilities Discount Warehouse under me and pay just £8.99 for your line rental, and deal with a nice company. I get commission and in return you get my e-mail - this site into your mailbox at every update!

You could also add energy, guaranteed cheaper than the top 6 suppliers and get the lot on one bill every month. Mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com if you fancy it. Easy to do!

I'm glad to say MF Global has improved its offer to readers....
First you get a free £2 bet on the FTSE.. and secondly when you place your first bet with them they will cover the potential loss of up to £100 if the trade moves against you.
I use MF Global myself for spreadbets on the smaller companies as they have more online than anyone else and offer spreads on pretty much everything.
To take up the offer either click the MF banner you should find somewhere on this page, or cut and paste this link into your browser and you can sign up online:
http://tinyurl.com/c524ku
Terms and conditions obviously apply, check them on that link.. I think those are good offers.

Many of you enjoy the cheap advfn toplists bronze deal through me as do many of you with the cheap level 2. However many of you say you want a half-way house to include real-time share prices always on.
So I'm pleased to announce I've managed to seal a new deal with Advfn for its "Silver" service - that's always on real-time share prices for a good saving (Bronze toplists etc are included in this).
The deal is via me you can save £30 for your first year by paying just £138.06 inc vat via me instead of £167.47.
Just mail me for full details if you'd like it with "silver" in the subject line.
The money - real money - is already coming on from my own internet shopping site which is at www.ei42.com/nakedtrader.

In fact I've already made £1,000 - that's in a very short time and as this grows I think there could be a very good income there.

YOU can make money out of this too - by simply doing your online shopping as normal but via your site (it costs nothing) and then tell friends to open their shopping site using the link from yours - you then get commission on their buys!
Have a look at this link:

http://www.ei42.com/Nakedtrader/

So for free you can sign up and get this site for yourself.

Everytime you buy anything yourself on your site you get commission.. So if you normally shop online anyway it's a no brainer: just use your own site instead of going direct and get some commission every time you shop.
Then you just get some friends to sign up and get their own site too - when they do online shopping using their mall, you get commission too. Simple as that.
It's all explained on the site top right.. just click "Make money with your own shop find out more" and it's all explained. Or click here

http://www.ei42.com/?10850514
So you just shop away as normal - but now you earn commission - and there's also decent money off coupons too on top of that!

They've just re-published "The Zulu Principle" by Jim Slater who's written a 2008 update at the beginning.
This is a brilliant classic book. Reading this is a real pleasure and it was a great idea to republish.
Jim believes like I do the best gains can come from smaller stocks and in an easy to read style takes you through how to evaluate smaller companies that are about to become bigger ones - he uses some excellent examples.
Really this is a must read for all more longer-term investors or anyone looking to grow their money... a number of you have also written to me about this book and praising it.
Here is the link to buy it:

http://books.global-investor.com/books/167207.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
Here's a very topical one: The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets by Peter Schiff.
The book is all about how to keep portfolios up in a down market. He focusses a lot on how to play commodities and win with some sensible advice especially on natural resources and precious metals. He is very much a realist and there is no rubbish here: some straight talking and some interesting strategies.
Everyone who invests should think seriously about keeping portfolios up in bad times so this book should be read.
Well worth picking up at this link:

http://books.global-investor.com/books/271958.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
To order my new book Naked Trader 2 for next day delivery click this link... or the cover of the book top right!
http://books.global-investor.com/books/27120.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
I've had heaps and heaps of praise from many of you regarding The Financial Spreadbetting book.
The book really seems to have helped a lot of you understand spreadbetting a lot more than you did. You say it's really helped you with ideas too. The writer deserves commendation. With the ability to go short so important in these volatile markets, it's a must read. To order click this link... http://books.global-investor.com/books/23307.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
Several people have asked me for a recommendation on a book which shows how to study accounts in a reasonably easy way. The one I like the most is http://books.global-investor.com/books/15717.htm?ginPtrCode=10453 by Robert Leach. Ten crunch questions to ask before buying any company.
It' s a decent easy-to-read book with several key chapters and it's highly recommended. It's one I keep and dip into from time to time. To order, click this link... http://books.global-investor.com/books/15717.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
The best book on charting and easiest read on the subject is http://books.global-investor.com/books/15618.htm?ginPtrCode=10453 by Alistair Blair. Click here -> http://books.global-investor.com/books/15618.htm?ginPtrCode=10453
Another good one is the second edition of http://books.global-investor.com/books/23792.htm?ginPtrCode=10453 by Peter Temple. Included in this one is how to use spreadbetting, CFD's warrants and trackers to reduce risk. And there are some decent trading strategies too.
This is an excellent book for new investors and also experienced ones. It explains all the things you may not be sure about in the markets and will explain the tools that are there. To order The Investors Toolbox by Peter Temple (new edition) click the following link for delivery in 24 hours... http://books.global-investor.com/books/23792.htm?ginPtrCode=10453

MAY 15TH SOLD OUT!

Fancy spending a day with me, learning all the ways I have learned over the years to find good shares and play the markets? Well, you can at one of my seminars!
Booking is still open for the next Naked Trader seminar on Friday June 26th. Price is £495 plus 15% vat. However there is a large early booking discount available!

That includes three course lunch, Starbucks coffee, parking etc. And most importantly it covers choc bars and fruit gums too.

The seminar is mainly aimed at beginners and dabblers though improvers are welcome too.
Topics covered using live market feeds all day include: Market psychology, level 2 - a simple guide to how to use it for better timing; how to value companies; finding companies that are about to rise. I will also cover techniques for handling events such as the recent meltdown and volatility.
Spreadbetting: How to use it to gain an edge and go short. Market makers - how they work and how to beat them; how to stop losing money and make it instead and plenty more.
How to plan trade entries and exits - how to research companies and understand reports, plus all those niggly questions you always wanted to ask. How to set stop losses and targets. Charts and how to use them.
Also covered: Market maker tricks: How to spot tree shakes and use them in your favour, How to tell when NOT to buy a share. I use live ADVFN all day with lots of level 2 and looks at all kind of live market data.
The idea behind the seminar is SIMPLICITY. I don't use jargon or fancy words - everything is in PLAIN ENGLISH! No question is too stupid and the event is held in a friendly relaxed and supportive environment.
The idea is you will come away from the event I hope a wise and better investor with lots of new ideas. I try and translate complex topics into easy bite size pieces. I also aim for it to be entertaining as well as instructive.
If you are interested please e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "June seminar interested" in the subject line and I will send you full details of the event including comments from those who have come to previous seminars and you can then decide whether you would like to come. See you there!

One seminar attendee Clare wanted to write a testimonial about her experiences at the seminar which follows now!
"I've just come back buzzing from one of Robbie's seminars. What a day! He's just brilliant, and manages to pack an awful lot into one day, and with his enthusiastic and humorous delivery the day just flies by. There are no gimmicks, no sell, no "˜get-rich-quick' promises, just his own solid, sound approach which he has learnt over the years and which works.
He shows you how to minimise the risks and maximise the profits and points out the banana skins on the way. Where the seminar really comes into its own is when he teaches using live level 2. Hearing him talk through his thought processes and reasoning is invaluable, and really brings home everything from the book. He has endless patience answering peoples' questions, and really seems to care that everybody understands.
On top of that, you meet some really nice like minded people and swap e mail addresses, you're plied with
chocolates and coffee all day, have a great lunch and spend the evening getting tiddled with Robbie in the
bar afterwards! You might even get to see the amazing crocodile boots . . . .

Don't worry about the cost, it's easily worth it, and you'll soon make it back with your new-found investment skills, and in what you're no longer losing. If you're thinking of going along to his next seminar, whether you're a novice or an experienced trader, don't hesitate ""just go!
Thanks Clare, did you want the tenner in cash, or will a cheque do?

Exclusive One Point Spread, £250 Cashback Offer

Still a massive response coming in for the sensational 1 point indices spread offer plus £250 cash back on losses - my mail box continues to be full of enquires - don't miss out!
I have arranged a deal with a spreadbet company that gives you just ONE POINT spreads on all the major indices and very tight spreads on everything else. A one point spread is just amazing and you can use it on the FTSE, DOW, Nikkei etc...
Not only that, I can offer those of you interested a fantastic £250 cash back on any realised spreadbet losses made within your first 8 weeks. That means you get back any losses up to £250 which could come in extremely handy.
If you'd like the details of this offer just mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "£250 cashback offer" in the subject line. This really is a great offer which will have a limited lifespan so if you want it, get cracking!

. Mf Global Spreads is one of the few companies that offers spreads on smaller companies valued at just £6m or more, including AIM stocks. And you can trade them online too.
So now you CAN deal in small companies without having to actually buy the shares in the market and you can deal in them on margin if you wish.
Every naked trader reader who opens an account with them though me will get a completely free £2 a point bet on the daily FTSE on a day of your choice.
As you can imagine get it right and this free bet could be worth a few quid. The bet cannot be a loser, because if you lose, it is as if you never placed it!

And MF now also offers £100 refund on your first bet if it becomes a loser.
So here is your chance to open an account to spread bet the smaller companies - of course you can deal in the whole range of usual spread betting with them too including the bigger companies and indices bets as well.
To take up what I think is a brilliant offer, simply cut and paste this link into your browser and sign up online:

http://tinyurl.com/c524ku

I've started using Tradefair for spreadbetting - I like the auto generated stop losses which help to maintain discipline and that's good for beginners I think. And exclusively for Naked Trader readers they upped the offer to £100 credit!

So there's now a £100 credit on offer for anyone opening an account via me. You get that after 2 spreadbets (non equity).

To get the offer, click here:

http://promo.tradefair.com/nakedtrader100/

Oh dear oh dear. Gordon Brown's attempt at another YouTube vid shows again how completely out of touch he is.
He thinks going on YouTube is the "cool" thing to do whereas in reality as everyone knows bar him, it makes him look like a complete bozo.
Yet again it is so awful. Plenty of stories around too of him losing his temper with journalists off camera.
Well done to foot in mouth John Prescott for his impression.The former Deputy Prime Minister screwed up his face in an impression of the PM and joked: "I have worked with Gordon Brown for an awfully long time. He must have the worst bloody smile in the world."

With friends like Prescott, who needs enemies?

Meanwhile his "team" is circling, making their moves for when he's gone, either next month or this time next year.
Everytime a politician says he or she gives "100 percent" support it means they are desperate to knife him in the back and get the top job.
Labour Mps are desperate to cling onto their high paying gigs and know they'll lose with Brown. But without him maybe one or two will survive.
The current government is even more useless than the dying days of John Major's regime. Harriet Harman! Ghastly! Jack Straw. Creepy! Hazel Blears.. words fail me!
The only one with some semblance of dignity is Charles Clarke.
Looks like "swine flu" isn't a killer. Those who've been killed by it look like they would have been killed by normal flu.
The best summary comes from a schoolgirl who caught it in the UK. "It was like a cold," she said.
The political 50% tax rate will have a terrible effect on jobs in this country - Publisher Informa has announced it is going to Switzerland - taking a huge number of jobs with it. The news saw its share price soar.
This is just the start. Expect to see plenty more companies leave. As well as the hard-working entreprenuers who take risks and employ people.
In a recession history shows it's actually better to CUT taxes.
ID cards are to be launched in Manchester.
Just remember: we are in a recession, the government is desperate for money. So it's going to carry on with this stupid ID card scheme.. cost? Over £5bln. How much will they raise from the 50% tax rate? £1bln. Go figure.
Harriet Harman reckons ID cards will make ID theft impossible. What a laugh. Hilariously you can "buy" your ID card from... the newsagent... and erm, of course all your details will be perfectly safe ...
So in The Apprentice Ben the total plonker lives to fight another day. Of course he should have been fired but Sir A knows Ben will make for much better TV than Noorul.
Nice guy though he is, when negotiating you don't open at £160 then gratefully accept an offer of £50.
I'm sure Ben will be in the final. He's the usual all mouth and no trouser.
After saying he'd "rip anyone to bits" in the boardroom he ended up with Noorul almost mauling him.
Deborah made a bad mistake in having a go at Nick, the best thing on the show.
Best bit for me is always the close-up look of contempt on Nick's face when the team he's following does something really really stupid, luckily a common occurrence.
In a credit crunch move tonight instead of going abroad they are going "up north". To sell some new products. As this lot couldn't sell a drink to John Prescott it should be interesting!

If you want to bet on sport here's the sign up link, very large free bets for newbies: To open a Sporting account click here:
http://www.sportingindex.com/?tpid=6755
Do remember if you do bet you ought to treat sports spreadbetting as entertainment - and expect to lose! Also with spreadbetting work out what your max loss could be and make sure you can afford it! In other words if you say backed the favourite at 15 for a fiver and they come nowhere your max loss is £75.

Rodger writes:
Good to read that you are doing ok in these financial turbulent times.
Take a daily aspirin! They help to avoid heart problems!
Life has thrown me a curve ball. I have just come out of hospital having. I suffered a heart attack and me only 56! Looks like I will make a good recovery and will be able to lead a full life. No particular reason for it. I reckon
I was just one of the 0.5% who are likely to get a heart attack despite all having all the right boxes ticked in the health check list etc. So, now I have 6 - 7 weeks
to get back up to speed and I will be popping a few pills now for the rest of my life. Hey ho.
The time off work will give me a chance to get my portfolio sorted and make some life changing decisions. Life is too short to hang around waiting. So, plans I be a making to do some travelling and see some sights soonerrather than later.

Hi Rodger.
So sorry to hear about the attack at such a young age, it could happen to anyone. I suppose we al ought to imagine the same had happened to us and live each day as well as possible. Life is indeed to short to hang about waiting.
My wife's dad had an attack a couple of years ago at 68 and is living life to the full. And it sounds like you're going to do the same. All the best for seeing the sights and let us know how you get on..

Sue writes:
I hope your voice is recovering and you are feeling better after persevering till late with your epic trading seminar last Friday.

Wow what a day that was! I can't remember the last time I went to an event where my eyes and ears were glued to the presenter for the entire day. Even the graveyard slot wasn't a problem for concentration and that is a real first! Thank you for such an educational, enlightening and inspiring seminar, for sharing your methodology, your tips and your encouragement with passion and great humour.

I found your book a real eye opener, but your seminar has since given me the confidence to take charge of my own investments and armed me with knowledge of the tools to do the job. My heart sank when I read your book and realised that I was guilty of so many of the mistake / loser scenarios in your book. I now see those mistakes as hard earned and costly lessons, but know what I must do to put them behind me so I can move forward, away from my so called advisory broker.

It feels as if I turned a corner on Friday and this is the first week of my new trading life! I wish I had more daytime hours to devote, and will work towards getting some. I setup a virtual portfolio containing one share from each of those on your shortlist. Unbelievably, every one of those stocks finished the day with a change in blue yesterday! You are awesome, thank you.

Thanks Sue - this one is representative of some of the many mails about the event - thanks to all of you who wrote in and I've replied to you all personally. It is really personally rewarding for me.

Ryan writes:
I can confidently say that since your seminar in March, I have become a more relaxed and confident trader! Have made some money too! And I don't have to trade everyday or worry about not sitting in front of the computer screen all day!!!

I am not sure that I can put my finger on exactly what did it for me but it is worth mentioning that part of what was inspiring was that there were no wild claims as to what we were going to gain from the seminar. Just sharing your own experiences (as in the book) was awesome! Many thanks for sharing your trades with us; the day was definitely well worth it. I am still expecting my own commission on the trade you closed out that afternoon! And I would like my own tenner in cash "" no cheques please! By the way, the lunch was also really lovely indeed and thanks for signing my book. I hope all who attend after us would find it as useful and as inspiring as I did
Thanks Ryan and glad it worked for you

Keith writes:

Just finished reading your book, and I must say I enjoyed it immensely .So much so that I am going to read it again immediately to confirm that some of your ideas have stuck . Not only was it a good read , but it also confirmed that I am only doing a few things wrongly , not everything as unplanned as I thought .
One question though if you don't mind , where can I get relevant information regarding Aim listed companies which are moving up to the main market ? I don't seem to be able to find this info so far , and I wonder if you could point me in the right direction ?
Hi Keith..
There's no easy way.. I usually scan news items on advfn at 7am, a move is usually highlighted there - but there are only about 5-10 moves a year!

I have 3 great offers from ADVFN. First great deal: If you want level 2, though me it is only £299 for your first year including VAT!
This compares to £360 PLUS vat from ADVFN direct (£423) so this deal saves you over £100! ADVFN level 2 also includes all the live trades made through Plus Markets which I find invaluable.
To accept this great deal just e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with "Level 2 offer" in the subject line and I will tell you how to get it. Level 2 for only £299 for a year (including vat), or under £25 a month!!

Deal two is ADVFN's bronze subscription - normally £60pa - available from me for only £40! That's a saving of £20! You get access to the premium bulletin board which contains my discussion forum with direct access to chat to me and some very good traders.
Plus you get ADVFN's premium top lists which I talk about in my book and think are a must for finding great stock picks. That includes great lists like ex dividend dates, market maker buys plus chart breakouts and downs.
To take up the offer, e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with Bronze in the subject line and I will tell you how to claim the deal.

Deal three is ADVFN's silver subscription - for those of you who want all the benefits of Bronze AND always on real-time prices.. no more using the back button and getting frozen out!

The deal is via me you can save £30 for your first year by paying just £138.06 inc vat via me instead of £167.47.
Just mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com if you'd like this deal with "silver" in the subject line.

Want to try out broker Selftrade superb trading system for no risk? You only have to trade once to get £50 bunged into your account!
All deals are just £12.50 with no funny small print. So it's a no lose situation! Follow this link...

http://tinyurl.com/57hp4n

Mama Mia!! Wow! Just when I thought my portfolio would struggle to go up anymore and I really must take profits, it soared yet again.
I have never, ever made so much money in such a short space of time. Something around six figures personally. Some of it made on the higher risk ones those who get the email know about and my pension has soared too.
And I'm sure many of you readers are having a great time too. Conditions have been marvellous. Well done to you if you've made a few quid and it's nice to get a reminder that sometimes shares go UP!
I've been fascinated to read the forecasters in the magazines get the market so badly wrong - they have all been short. One famous columnist declared a massive short position two weeks ago. Strangely, that position wasn't mentioned again...
As usual I try to just follow what it's doing and I'm simply holding the winners while they build.
So, if the market starts to tank again, yes I'll miss out on some profit. It doesn't matter to me, it'll be a big profit one way or another barring a black swan event.
Because most of my holds are soaring it actually makes life quite easy and in general I've had my feet up watching the cash rise with the tea and toast quotient very high!
But I am sure many of you, like me, wonder how long the rises can continue! At the moment it's been buy in May and sell on St Ledgers day!
Anyway just been enjoying it but there are one or two buys and sells. With buys and the market higher I'm looking out for recovery plays the market hasn't noticed yet that have the potential to double and try and get in early.
Well, first is another topup in Carclo (CAR). It's heading up with the market but still undervalued and plenty more to come. Nicely up already I added another 5,000 shares at 77p. Target 120 stop 70. There's some nice background buying going on here and this recovery play could really motor, anything positive and it's the kind of share that can be up 20p in a flash.
I had Volex (VLX) sitting on an old screen from when I dealt in it years ago and suddenly noted the market-makers raising their prices. So I had a quick look. One of those beaten-up stocks that could recover. I guessed some buys were going in and followed suit getting 5,000 at 38p. Fairly quickly it moved up to 45, then 50 and has fallen back somewhat today. However I guess that is profit-taking - results are in three weeks and judged by the buys that went in I wonder whether they will continue to rise before results day. target 75 stop 33. Like Carlco one that could really speed higher.
Topps Tiles (TPT) was brought up as an interesting one with good volumes at the follow-up seminar last week. Very strong uptrend here so I bought £100 on the spreads at 51. Another decent-looking recovery play. Given the amount of money Mrs NT is currently spending on tiles for our place at Topps, there is a long way for the shares to go! target 80 stop 40. I might even Topp up!
As you know I've been tempted time and time again to take the massive profits building up. But in my ten years plus of trading it's always been best to hold out and ride out the winners which is why I have a number of shares that have doubled and trebled.
In fact, what can I say about my shares? Well I could say a couple of words but they aren't suitable for a family audience.
First to the star of the show, Heritage Oil - a brilliant drilling report today has pushed them up 20% and I think there is even more to come. Now nearly trebled on the first buy and the website buys are now in profit by more than £10,000. No reason to take profits yet on this gusher I think - and although my target of 500 has been nearly reached, on today's statement there could be another 200p there at least. Some brokers today even estimate 800-1000. Hope they're right!
All the recent buys have been steaming up. Well as I thought the swine flu thing was probably overhyped by the media and lucky for me that proved the case and because of that the trade and spreadbet on British Airways have paid off handsomely with the spread bet alone up £1,700 plus in short order.
Spreadbet of the week has to be Charter and I'm glad I picked up a few more. Profits here now a quickfire £5,000!
The spread buy of PV Crystalox too has netted quick profits of nearly £1.000.
My banks. Goodness. Barclays has now more than trebled with profits over £6,000. RBS has doubled and a half!
Dragon Oil has doubled and a bit. Galiform inching towards a double and quickly too. Unite has doubled now and a bit.
Chime issued a reassuring statement today and has cracked the 100 - that looks significant and there could be a lot more to come. Ding Dong!
Alterian remains on the march upwards - interesting to see whether it can crack 100 and good profits building here. .
My bid target favourite from the last seminar Microgen is quietly but surely heading back upwards. It's the quiet little risers than often end up producing the best profits. Market makers seem reluctant to sell stock too which is always good news.
Workspace is nicely higher, and again not long here before a double is reached! The 15.5 seller has gone too.
Recent buys Celsis and Hardy Oil both doing fine and rising nicely though Hardy is very volatile
Hunting is going well and Petrofac has surged through 600.
The good times are certainly here. How long can they remain? Answers on the back of a postcard because I haven't got a clue but very much enjoying it while it lasts.

Of course it would be no surprise to see a reversal on profit taking here. But after that this market looks like it could still have some more steam in it.
I've been getting e-mails regarding my use of direct market access and who I use. I've tried a few and for me the easiest system for me is here:

http://www.igmarkets.co.uk/?QPID=1079&QPPID=1
Direct market access means you can place orders directly onto the order book bypassing brokers and market-makers with a chance to buy at the "sell" price. I would suggest you ensure you know what you're doing first but IG does provide much education with its "tradesense" educational tool which comes with it.
I also use its spreadbetting service too along with other firms like Tradefair because it now provides trailing stops which to me is a pretty sensible way of trading. Link is here: -
http://www.igindex.co.uk/?QPID=1078&QPPID=1

that also includes a pretty decent educational programme. As usual before opening accounts please read all the warnings on the sites. You can lose a lot of money if you're not careful so pay close attention to them and make sure you always understand what you are doing and what your potential losses are.

I've also started using Tradefair for spreadbetting - I like the auto generated stop losses which help to maintain discipline and that's good for beginners I think. And exclusively for Naked Trader readers they upped the offer to £100 credit!

So there's now a £100 credit on offer for anyone opening an account via me. You get that after 2 spreadbets (non equity).

To get the offer, click here:

http://promo.tradefair.com/nakedtrader100/

If you want to get the contents of The Naked Trader website into your mailbox instead of waiting for the update to come through, plus exclusively news on the progress of my SIPP from the old Sunday Times column inc new higher risk Aim buys made for that, e-mail me at robbiethetrader@aol.com with SIPP in the subject line for details of how to get it.

Want to quit the rat race? Try and start a new source of income so one day you can tell the boss to stuff it? You could do what I did to escape my grotty office job and become an independent distributor for the Utilities Discount Warehouse.
You get to sell great broadband, phone packages and energy to friends, relatives, contacts and anyone else you find and you get cash for each sale but more importantly you get a cut of their spend EVERY MONTH for as long as they are a customer!
It's called residual income and is a far better way to enjoy a ripe old age than relying on a pension. Because even after you stop selling the money STILL comes in!
I still get paid EVERY MONTH for sales I made back in 1999! Every time a customer uses broadband or the phone or switches on a light you get paid.
It's a great business and backed by a stock market company (Telecom Plus), a dedicated team of advisors.. and me to help you on your way!
Not only do you get paid out every month for each customer you can take on distributors. encourage them like I do and get paid on their sales as well.
One day, say you could made redundant, needed a year off or wanted to retire early can you imagine what joy it is to have the regular income coming in. It's wonderful.
You have to work at it, but if you do genuine repeat wealth could be yours. I did it. You can too. For full details, why not email me at robbiethetrader@aol.com.
An overview is also available at http://www.telecomplus.org.uk/fabdeal you can sign up directly there but do tell me!
****
Trade tables follow! Trades are current open and recently closed trades. Closed trades feature the closing price and the amount I won or lost. All others are open. Trades get updated a little later than the narrative. Trading costs are ignored, however I also do not add in dividend payments and with the kinds of companies I buy, dividends tend to equal or outweigh costs. Spread rollovers ignored for web purposes. Tables as accurate as poss however a mistake or two can creep in and very occasionally if I forgot I sold or bought something it will be added at a later time.

Trades first reported Weds and Fri afternoons under "Markets" section.. afraid I can't do live trades as that would turn me into a tipster and I'd have to be regulated!