The ultimate stock market tip is very simple make sure you buy your stock before the price goes up and even more important be sure to sell it before the price goes down, I know this seems to be stating the obvious but it's amazing how many stock market investors forget this simple rule.

For nearly all stock market investors both newcomers and also very experienced traders the main consideration seems to be deciding on which stock they are going to buy. In reality this is a mistake the stock you are considering is definitely not the most vital part of stock market investing.

Anybody who has any reasonable experience of the stock market will know that the majority of shares always move in the direction of the market, "A rising tide raises all ships and falling tide lowers them". This means if the whole market is moving up the stocks that you buy will also move up, unless you are very unlucky, in a falling market your shares will go down, unless you've been very lucky. The most important factor in whether or not you make money on a particular share trade is how you handle that trade after you've bought the stock.

Stock market investors are always on the lookout for a good tip, for inside information and its probable that that is what you thought this article was about, but the truth of the matter is individual stock tips are less important to your overall success than the way you handle your trades.

The most important stock market tip I can give you is that it doesn't matter how high your stock rises in price, you have not made any profit until you sell the stock and put the money in the bank, if your stock falls in price you will keep on losing money until such time as you cut your losses and get out of the position. What I mean is, it is important to take a profit when it's available to you, but it's even more important to cut your losses.

Two of the best ways of keeping your losses under control are first never fall in love with any of your stockholdings they are only a means of making money and secondly always remember your stock will not go against the general direction of the market. We all forget these two basic rules from time to time and end up losing money.

To maximise your gains it is important to remember not to be too greedy, before you buy a stock decide on your profit target and once you've achieved it realise a profit by selling the stock, it is almost impossible to exactly catch the top of the market. If your stock goes up in price but then starts to fall back be prepared to reduce your profit target and take the money that is available to you now.

If you're new to stock market investing it is worth paying the extra charges and using a full-service stockbroker, but make sure you ask them lots of questions, why are they recommending a particular stock, how did they reach that decision, you're paying extra charges make sure you get an education for your money. Once you feel confident, start making your own decisions, when they work out and you have several successful stock investments under your belt it will be time to move on to a low-cost online stock dealing service.

When you're a new stock market investor, it can seem like everyone is more experienced and knowledgeable than you about every aspect of the industry. Not only are you faced with complicated and loaded decisions about which companies to invest in, but you also have to decide how you're going to monitor those investments and how you'll know when to buy or sell to diversify your portfolio. It can be tempting to start listening to the stock market commentary provided by the hundreds of industry experts online and on the television, but it's important to remember that even the experts can get it wrong.

All you have to do is search for keywords like "stock market tips" or "how to invest" on a major search engine, and you're going to be provided with thousands of pages of content, all telling you that they have the answer to all your investment problems. But they can't all be right, can they? If you're going to look for stock market commentary to help you create a successful position in the stock market, you must know how to separate the self-proclaimed experts from those that have proven they can provide you with insights that work.

One of the most popular types of stock market commentary are the articles that advice you about which stocks are currently the hottest, and thus likely to make you a heap of money if you just invest in them right away. With this type of commentary, it's important to explore the credentials of the person making the recommendations. Do they have a record of being right about their stock picks? How much experience do they have as a trader and how much money did they lose before they started providing new investors with "expert" advice? The answers to these questions can help you avoid noise masquerading as advice.

Although stock market commentary can be dangerous if it is your only way of choosing which stocks to buy and which to sell, it can be helpful in some situations. Good commentary is just that: objective observations about what's going on in the market, and what that's likely to mean for the health of portfolios everywhere. This commentary will address political and media pressures, as well as company history issues that you might not have discovered in your own research. This commentary is useful because it can help you to connect the dots and understand the whole picture surrounding a certain investment.