5. Be a Skeptic
Remember when we said to think outside the box? Well, do that, but don't forget to be a skeptic…

Just because a company has an interesting new idea doesn't necessarily mean it's a good penny stock prospect for your portfolio. The key is…Do you think that it can monetize its idea?

If that answer isn't immediately clear, it's time to dig a little deeper into that company's prospects. Thinking outside the box is a great way to get innovative companies on your radar, but being a skeptic is the only way to make sure that translates into gains for your portfolio.

6. Think, Then Buy
When you're ready to buy shares of a penny stock, make sure you take a second to think about what you're doing. All too many first-time penny investors take the jump on just a few shares of a penny stock without realizing how much the size of their investment will affect their returns.

Think about it this way…You're an investor who sees an attractive stock for $1 per share. You don't have a large portfolio yet, and you don't want to take too much of a risk, so you buy just 50 shares for $50.

Turns out you picked a winner that made 40% in just a week - $20 of pure profit. You sell and rejoice in your penny stock success. But wait…is that celebration justified?

You're forgetting about those $10 execution fees you paid to buy and sell that stock. That's $20 altogether. Looks like you only broke even, despite the fact that you had a stellar stock.

When you're buying penny stocks, make sure you're buying a large enough quantity that account costs (like execution fees) don't eat up your profits. You can find out your minimum returns to break even with this:

Execution Fees/Stock Acquisition Price x 100 = Break-even Gain (Percent) Needed

7. Don't Get Greedy
Lots of penny stock investors see 200%, 500%, even 1,000% gains on a stock but still end up losing money in the end. It's not because they didn't plan their buys properly…it's because they got greedy!

It doesn't matter how much money a stock makes if you're not ready to press the button and realize those gains. That's why you need to set solid exit points for any penny stock you buy.

It's human nature to want to hold onto an investment as you see it climb with no end in sight, but doing that is a great way to miss out if that trend turns around. When you analyze an investment, think about a logical exit price and sell for that. Picking solid exit points will become easier as you develop your investing chops.

8. Don't Get Too Nervous
The flip side of getting greedy is getting nervous with stocks that are seeing major gains in short periods of time. Relax. As a penny stock investor, you've got to be ice-cold when you see one of your picks take off.

Again, it comes down to picking good exit points for your investments. If you're sure that your stock is bound to start losing ground before you hit that target price, maybe it's time to re-evaluate what that price should be.

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