On June 7, I watched the Internet video feed from Las Vegas as Mike “The Mouth” Matusow pocketed $266,503 by winning the 13th event in the 2013 World Series of Poker. Matusow has won nearly $9 million playing tournament poker, and I’ve studied nearly every hand he has ever played. I even sat next to his mother the night he won $1 million in the Championship Event of the 2005 World Series of Poker. During his recent tournament, Matusow seldom had the lead. But he played a disciplined game. He folded many hands while his opponents wasted chips, chasing after… Read More

On June 7, I watched the Internet video feed from Las Vegas as Mike “The Mouth” Matusow pocketed $266,503 by winning the 13th event in the 2013 World Series of Poker. Matusow has won nearly $9 million playing tournament poker, and I’ve studied nearly every hand he has ever played. I even sat next to his mother the night he won $1 million in the Championship Event of the 2005 World Series of Poker. During his recent tournament, Matusow seldom had the lead. But he played a disciplined game. He folded many hands while his opponents wasted chips, chasing after hands they didn’t have the odds to win. Matusow’s patience and premium hand selection over the course of the three-day event were rewarded with the first-prize gold bracelet. I’ve played poker for more than a decade. I’ve had the opportunity to study — and go up against — some of the best professionals in the world. I’ve seen players amass big leads in a tournament, only to turn right around and give every chip back. In my experience, both as a poker player and an investor, the decision to not play a mediocre hand can be the most profitable decision… Read More

Recently, I told you about the simple strategy that’s never lost money. Put simply, the longer you hold an investment, the better your chances of making a profit. The S&P 500 has never had a losing 20-year span, going all the way back to the 1950s. The key is finding a handful of companies that enjoy huge (and lasting) advantages over the competition… companies that pay their investors each and every… Read More

Recently, I told you about the simple strategy that’s never lost money. Put simply, the longer you hold an investment, the better your chances of making a profit. The S&P 500 has never had a losing 20-year span, going all the way back to the 1950s. The key is finding a handful of companies that enjoy huge (and lasting) advantages over the competition… companies that pay their investors each and every year by dishing out fat dividends… and companies buying back massive amounts of their own stock. Once you find them, the strategy is simple — just buy their shares and hold “Forever.” But if you want to see the best reason why investing “Forever” is the smartest way to let the market make you wealthy, pay attention to the… Read More

When it comes to assessing the outlook for drugmakers, investors really only care about the pipeline of new drugs. After all, existing drugs eventually lose patent protection, and when that happens, a large hole in the income statement… Read More

My investing career has come nearly full circle from where I started. Back in the early 1990s, day trading was just coming into vogue as a viable way to make a living. The advent of the personal computer, discount… Read More

When it comes to assessing the outlook for drugmakers, investors really only care about the pipeline of new drugs. After all, existing drugs eventually lose patent protection, and when that happens, a large hole in the income statement… Read More

As investors were picking up the pieces after the dot-com implosion, they came across another troubled sector. A series of looming patent expirations on key drugs meant that major pharmaceutical companies were on the cusp of a decade-long sales drought. Investors responded by dumping shares, as the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index plunged from 400 in late 2001 to just 250 a… Read More

As investors were picking up the pieces after the dot-com implosion, they came across another troubled sector. A series of looming patent expirations on key drugs meant that major pharmaceutical companies were on the cusp of a decade-long sales drought. Investors responded by dumping shares, as the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index plunged from 400 in late 2001 to just 250 a year later. A decade later, Big Pharma’s “patent cliff” was still a key concern, and this index remained far from its previous highs. Yet in recent quarters, Big Pharma has come back with a vengeance, as shares have moved back to the levels seen all those years ago. Credit goes to several factors, most notably the absence of any new imminent blockbuster-drug patent expirations, and an industrywide focus on shareholder-friendly moves such as share… Read More

As investors were picking up the pieces after the dot-com implosion, they came across another troubled sector. A series of looming patent expirations on key drugs meant that major pharmaceutical companies were on the cusp of a decade-long sales drought. Investors responded by dumping shares, as the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index plunged from 400 in late 2001 to just 250 a… Read More

As investors were picking up the pieces after the dot-com implosion, they came across another troubled sector. A series of looming patent expirations on key drugs meant that major pharmaceutical companies were on the cusp of a decade-long sales drought. Investors responded by dumping shares, as the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index plunged from 400 in late 2001 to just 250 a year later. A decade later, Big Pharma’s “patent cliff” was still a key concern, and this index remained far from its previous highs. Yet in recent quarters, Big Pharma has come back with a vengeance, as shares have moved back to the levels seen all those years ago. Credit goes to several factors, most notably the absence of any new imminent blockbuster-drug patent expirations, and an industrywide focus on shareholder-friendly moves such as share… Read More

As investors were picking up the pieces after the dot-com implosion, they came across another troubled sector. A series of looming patent expirations on key drugs meant that major pharmaceutical companies were on the cusp of a decade-long sales drought. Investors responded by dumping shares, as the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index plunged from 400 in late 2001 to just 250 a… Read More

As investors were picking up the pieces after the dot-com implosion, they came across another troubled sector. A series of looming patent expirations on key drugs meant that major pharmaceutical companies were on the cusp of a decade-long sales drought. Investors responded by dumping shares, as the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index plunged from 400 in late 2001 to just 250 a year later. A decade later, Big Pharma’s “patent cliff” was still a key concern, and this index remained far from its previous highs. Yet in recent quarters, Big Pharma has come back with a vengeance, as shares have moved back to the levels seen all those years ago. Credit goes to several factors, most notably the absence of any new imminent blockbuster-drug patent expirations, and an industrywide focus on shareholder-friendly moves such as share… Read More

As investors were picking up the pieces after the dot-com implosion, they came across another troubled sector. A series of looming patent expirations on key drugs meant that major pharmaceutical companies were on the cusp of a decade-long sales drought. Investors responded by dumping shares, as the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index plunged from 400 in late 2001 to just 250 a… Read More

As investors were picking up the pieces after the dot-com implosion, they came across another troubled sector. A series of looming patent expirations on key drugs meant that major pharmaceutical companies were on the cusp of a decade-long sales drought. Investors responded by dumping shares, as the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index plunged from 400 in late 2001 to just 250 a year later. A decade later, Big Pharma’s “patent cliff” was still a key concern, and this index remained far from its previous highs. Yet in recent quarters, Big Pharma has come back with a vengeance, as shares have moved back to the levels seen all those years ago. Credit goes to several factors, most notably the absence of any new imminent blockbuster-drug patent expirations, and an industrywide focus on shareholder-friendly moves such as share… Read More

As investors were picking up the pieces after the dot-com implosion, they came across another troubled sector. A series of looming patent expirations on key drugs meant that major pharmaceutical companies were on the cusp of a decade-long sales drought. Investors responded by dumping shares, as the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index plunged from 400 in late 2001 to just 250 a… Read More

As investors were picking up the pieces after the dot-com implosion, they came across another troubled sector. A series of looming patent expirations on key drugs meant that major pharmaceutical companies were on the cusp of a decade-long sales drought. Investors responded by dumping shares, as the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index plunged from 400 in late 2001 to just 250 a year later. A decade later, Big Pharma’s “patent cliff” was still a key concern, and this index remained far from its previous highs. Yet in recent quarters, Big Pharma has come back with a vengeance, as shares have moved back to the levels seen all those years ago. Credit goes to several factors, most notably the absence of any new imminent blockbuster-drug patent expirations, and an industrywide focus on shareholder-friendly moves such as share… Read More