CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge

I managed to close in the top 5% in the CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge.

Having no edge with the "put it all on black" approach needed to actually win the game (and lacking Bill Luby's superb volatility tactics), I decided instead to see how my real-life approach would measure up.

I started with 15 stocks, then kept whittling down the list, selling the laggards and plumping the winners. Almost all were stocks in my real-life portfolio. I rose to the top 5% early on -- when it was only about 250,000 participants -- and then drifted between 4-7% for the rest of the contest. My big winners were AAPL and CELG.

Unfortunately, I was very undisciplined about the Bonus Bucks thang, and remembered/chose to plod through the questions only about half the time. A tactical blunder, just $48,000 of the above winnings were Bonus Bucks. I figured I left about $100,000 on the (imaginary) table.

Anyway, I opted into the final round, and probably will try a 3-stock strategy. I'll let you know how it works out.

Congrats to everyone who participated, and Happy Mother's Day!

best

dk