<prompt> Human: If you didnt know, you can write off 3k per year in stock losses. For someone in the 25 tax bracket, thats basically a 25 subsidy on any stock choices you make that go bad. And if it goes in your favor just hold it for a year and you only have to pay 15 capital gains taxesIm generally a buy and hold type of investor that does all my investing in tax-deferred accounts. But this tax write off has me thinking that it might be a good idea to make a yearly bet on a small cap stock.If I were to buy...lets say 6k worth of a small cap stock every year, with a stop loss of 3k, would I come out ahead in the long run? Lose 3k some years, double up other years, and youd always get the 3k write off when you lose.Any thoughts?Edit: I think this tax deduction applies to stock options as well. So what about leveraging up and buying 3k in options for a small or mid cap stock every year? A lot more upward potential and you still can write it off if you lose.  <response>: I lost 7k in the market a few years back when I didnt know what I was doing and it tanked.. For 2 years, I basically didnt have to pay taxes on 3k of my income. If I could choose between the two, Id much rather have my 7k back rather than getting a few hundred extra bucks with my tax refund for a couple of years. 