Hi Guys & Gals,

As of this writing Jan 22nd 2018 - The market's a sea of red which is an AMAZING THING. Before we get started, firstly identify who you are and what your game play is. Why ? Because you don't walk into a Pub and ask the waitress - Can you give the best beer ? Nope !

Do you like dark beer, light beer, hoppy, imported, domestic, locally brewed, flavored, cheap beer , expensive, alcohol content, etc..... You just don't ask like that and if you actually do manage to get a recommendation then don't be surprised if it does not meet your expectations.

Similarly, there's a ton of people out there telling what's the best crypto [which is totally cool and awesome as they are sharing information] but I do see people actually buying and selling based solely on such recommendations.

Are you a strong believer in the block chain technology ?
Are you a Venture Capitalist scouting for great investments ?
Are you a just speculating and wishing a Lambo ? (you just might ;] )
Are you a Noob and just curious ?
Are you here because you heard "I told you so" from your friend and missed that initial Bitcoin Bus ?

Either way, I am NOT here to tell you who you are or what your game play should be, but I am here to point out that based on your objectives you will have to develop YOUR OWN strategy.

I think I am a bit of all the above and that is why I have split my portfolio. Diversification is critical as there are just too many external factors that you cannot control but it can impact you. When things tumble, you'll be glad you diversified. I am skipping the basics of crypto so this might make sense for those who have been actively trading for a few months and have a sense of what's in the market.

Shopping Cart Strategies

1. Invest only what you can afford to lose. Yes, once you lose money you'll understand why veterans keep repeating this. Be it in a casino or the stock market or any investment that's not 100% backed by something or guaranteed - invest ONLY what you can afford to lose.

2. Diversify ! enough said.

3. Store of Value - Example : Even during the Red market you can see BTC hold it's position and it is a common medium of exchange to buy other alt coins on most exchanges. So hold a certain % of BTC and try to work your way to owning 1 full BTC when your portfolio $ grows. Note this is just an example as we have seen multiple folks - Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin diamond , God knows if we will have another hard fork called Bitcoin Potatoes. What I am trying to tell is make sure you have a certain % of portfolio in coins that are a "store of value" segment.

4. Golden Goose - This will be like the blue chip companies on stock market. These are giants that have long term potential and you can envision them surviving the long haul. Example : The Ethereum platform hence Ether tokens.

5. Chinese bamboo Tree - The first few years there will be no visible sign of growth but then with patience and nurturing it becomes the so called "over-night success". These are projects with very good ideas, a strong team and a good industry backing. This is what I call long term hold that grows your portfolio over a period of time. HODL. Example - LOL take STEEM for that matter. It takes time and energy to truly bring a revolutionary product. One user at a time. One post at a time [like my first post which is this one ;]

6. Blood in your veins - Just as blood keeps your body running, Utility tokens, that keeps a Platform running and providing various services, these too will be in for the long haul and will add your value to your portfolio.Example : Dragonchain or Blue, maybe!

7. Full Moon - Just as the Full moon appears every 30 days, these are your mid term holds that you see good potential in. Get in Low and get out high. Example : New coins or projects which you liked but missed participating in ICO. You are not sure how their long term road map looks like but they do give you a decent return on your investment in the short run.

8. Vegas - Lets face it. There is a bit of greed in all of us. This should comprise the lowest % of your investment where you invest in certain coins, that are so new that they might hit it off or just drop dead. Some projects are just so new that "the whitepaper" might look like the plans were drawn on a napkin or its a scam plagiarizing other projects. But hey - wouldn't you mind risking say $50 to get opportunity to make a couple of thousand $. Example : Nope ! Not mentioning any examples. Last thing I want is for trolls or comments, stating am pumping and dumping crap coins. Ain't nobody got time for that.

9. USP - Unique Selling Proposition. This comprises of tokens / coins / projects bringing unique value like privacy coins or they bring value to specific industries. This is still a growing list. Example : Sportify is an example that's catering towards the sports industry.

Note - The above is just a comment from a random guy you see standing in line to get coffee. THIS IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVISE. I am NOT an adviser on any of the projects. I just see weak hands folding and feel sorry that people lose money as they don't realize what they are getting into till things go bad. I see "some" You tube videos having over 100K followers where the content is absolute crap. So always DYOR , make sound investments , reap the benefits. Good luck !

Cheers
Just Crypto