Most of the Punter’s plays are pretty dead, but Linc Energy (ASX code LNC) has continued to power ahead and he has been quick to grab a profit of 40 per cent in three weeks.

On the first-in, first-out principle he is actually making a loss: he bought 1000 LNC at the beginning of September at $2.20 each.

Seemed like a good idea at the time.

He sold them this week at $1.54, for a net loss of $700.

The Punter, however, prefers to focus on the fact that he bought an additional 1000 LNC on January 9 this year at $1.09.

He spent $1110 on LNC then and got $1520 back this week.

So although he has recorded a loss, he has increased his cash and is now showing a paper profit on the remaining LNC in his portfolio. This is a rare example of making money by doubling up on a loss-making trade.

Alas, the Punter’s risky doubling up in Korab Resources (KOR) was more typical: big mistake.

At the end of May he virtually doubled his holding to 20,000 shares by buying an additional 9500 at 22.5 cents.

That brought his average price down to 27.8c.

Now they are around 16c.

The company was supposed to be mining its Northern Territory rock phosphate by the end of last year, but only received formal mining approval from the NT authorities last month.

According to the company, it will be able to produce direct application crushed phosphate rock in small retail bags for about $100 a bag, or about a tenth of the retail price.

It almost sounds too good to be true. The news did nothing for the share price.

There has been no word of the assay results for the “visible sulphides” found at the end of October on its Green Alligator and Bachelor prospects, also in the NT.

At the end of September it appeared to have only enough cash to cover its expenses for six months, yet now it is talking of buying a controlling interest in oil, gas and anthracite assets in Southern Russia and Eastern Ukraine.

The Punter has quit.

The Punter has no financial qualifications and no links to the financial services industry. He owns shares in a number of companies featured in this column.