When trading penny stocks, once you've had a big success, your first thought me be about cashing out in order to enjoy the fruits of your investment. Keep in mind however that taking all the money off the table in the middle of a good deal (such as buying a house or car) may not the best course of action. Of course these are the things you are hoping to buy with your earnings and if you let all of your money ride you risk loosing it all if the stock dives. So what's an investor to do?

Savvy investors have developed a rather solid strategy of selling a portion (typically half once the stock has increased in value by 100%). This leaves you with the benefit of potential future increases while protecting the value of your initial investment.

If you've found another investment that you're interested in you could take a one third approach. This means leaving one third where it is, cashing out a third, and investing a third in the other stock you are interested in. While each situation is different the method is solid and used by many successful investors, particularly those who invest in the volatile market of penny stocks.

While one big win often leaves you hungry for the taste of another, it may be a good idea to take some time off after a successful trade and before putting your gains back into the market. It is always better to be ruled by reason than emotion, particularly when dealing with money. Investing should be done with reason and rather boring instead of made as the result of emotions and a need for adrenaline.

Vegas has a term for players who are much more risky with their winnings than they tend to be with their own money. It's called "playing with house money". The reasoning on the part of the players is that this money wasn't their money to begin with and it's no big loss. These players are also often less upset once they've lost it all.

This mentality often takes over with stock market investing. Rather than seeing that money as theirs, investors see it as house money they can play with and are willing to take investments that they would have otherwise passed on in hopes of another big win. Rather than relying on the pain staking hours of research and agonizing over the decision to purchase for your last win, you invest foolishly and loose it all. Taking a little time in between investments is often a good strategy for keeping your head in the game and money in your pocket.

Cashing out after a big rush on a stock is also a good idea. Especially if you are confident in the potential of that stock, this allows you to sell your stock then buy back after the initial rush when prices have gone down. Most of the time you can buy it for far less than you sold it.

There's only one thing that is worse than selling too early when investing in stocks and that is selling too late. Do not try to pick the absolute top and sell at that price. It is much better to sell on the way up, than on the way down and it is nearly impossible to predict at exactly which point stocks will peak. Have a cut off point, once you've reached that point and made an acceptable profit, then it's time to sell. Don't look back at what you didn't make either, be content with you much you've made and move on to the next stock. If you begin obsessing over every penny you could have made, perhaps this is not the best investment option for you. If you can walk away clean you can enjoy the exhilaration of the greatest game on earth.