This chapter covered the basics of brokerage accounts, some important trade types, and, finally, some big-picture issues regarding investment strategies and objectives. How should you, as an investor or investment manager, put this information to work?

      The answer is that you need to open a brokerage account! Investing is like many activities; the best way to learn is by making mistakes. Unfortunately, making mistakes with real money is an expensive way to learn, so we don't recommend trying things like short sales with real money, at least not at first.

      Instead, to learn about how to trade and gain some experience with making (and losing) money, you should open a Stock-Trak account (or a similar simulated brokerage account). Take it seriously. Try various trade types and strategies and see how they turn out. The important thing to do is to follow your trades and try to understand why you made or lost money and also why you made or lost the amount you did.

      In a similar vein, you should carefully review your account statements to make sure you understand exactly what each item means and how your account equity is calculated.

      After you have gained some experience trading "on paper," you should open a real account as soon as you can pull together enough money. Try visiting some online brokers such as Ameritrade to find out the minimum amount you need to open an account. The amount has been declining. In 2005, you could open a cash account for as little as $500, but to open a margin account, you need in the area of $2,000. Or, you can visit www.sharebuilder.com and www.buyandhold.com to open accounts with no money at all!

      Looking back at Chapter 1, you know that it's important to get started early. Once you have a real account, however, it's still a good idea to keep a separate "play money" account to test trading ideas to make sure you really understand them before committing your precious real money.