playin' the stocks game
steveplace: I run a stock options website (investingwithoptions.com) and am known as one of the better options guys out there.2k won't get you far in terms of trading. You should probably look into passive investing. You will get much larger returns investing in yourself than trying to speculate on the market.If you do want to speculate, you might want to look into index verticals. They limit your risk (50-150 loss max ) and have less comission vs trading stock ($3 vs $10). You'll at least lose money more slowly. And your delta risk initially isn't a lot so you can unwind a position with much less loss early than if you were to get into futures/stock.Me personally I trade options using technical and sentimental analysis, which is heresy around these "effecient market" places.Oh, and don't listen to Cramer or CNBC. They're asshats.I've got a pretty decent blogroll built up on my site with bloggers that risk their own money for a living, so that's a good place to start.