<prompt> Human: To preface my question because I know what you are probably thinking: The vast majority of my long-term investments are in index funds, but I would like to put a small amount of money into stocks, mainly as a learning experience because it is something I enjoy. In other words, I fully understand the risks and am ok with that. Before I invest, however, I was wondering what you think the best sites are with regard to current investing predictions, strategies, etc.?Assistant: As a hobby, its basically the same as playing Craps or BlackJack at a casino. Just pick some companies you like and think are undervalued. Before I found this sub, I was buying individual stocks. I was just randomly thinking up things I found interesting then finding out who made them or made the parts for them. Then Id look at their Google finance graph and see if they were considerably lower than the average for the last few years. I started in 2009 and it says Im up 50, most of that is Tesla Motors up 490 and Google up 73. Anyway, its only a few thousand dollars. Ive left it to sit and am doing the appropriate work of adjusting 401K, ESPP, and budgeting my emergency fund and setting up a ROTH IRA.Human: You know... on this sub it seems that virtually everyone agrees that the smartest investing in the stock market is done through boring ol index funds... yet most financial sites prominently push the more exciting and what I gather is much more risky in relation to reward method of selecting individual stocks. Just interesting the way it is set up.  <response>: Winning at gambling is very exciting. Just playing is exciting, even when you lose. However, its a shit way to secure your income or retirement. 