I have a great deal of investment in the stock market, but I've never "played" it. I've invested in companies that seem secure and capble of growth, and let the stocks sit there accruing value as the decades pass. I was taught this by both my grandmother and my uncle, and I'm happy to say it's always worked out. I get dividends every quarter as "play money," there are money accounts where I can dip if taxes for the year don't go well (2007 was a prime example of that), and the rest sits there in case of a dire emergency.