An anonymous investor on Reddit claimed he turned $100,000 into $2.2 million, and says he's now betting big on a cruise line

• A Reddit user on a popular Wall Street subreddit claimed he turned an initial investment of $100,000 into $2.2 million between 2017 and 2020.
• Sharing his trading tale of profit on Reddit, he posted a screenshot showing what he said are his sizeable gains made over the past four years.
• His post, in the Wall Street Bets subreddit, which has 1.2 million users, gained 775 comments and more than 2,600 reactions, many from investors who wanted to know his secret.
• The user, known as "IKnowTheCodings," was happy to share a series of insights on his big market wins, including channeling a strategy used by investing legend Warren Buffett: buy and hold.
• Markets Insider has not independently verified the Redditor's claims about his market wins.

An investor posting on a popular Reddit forum about trading claimed to have turned $100,000 into $2.2 million in four years.

The investor, going by the username "IKnowTheCodings" on Reddit, posted a screenshot of what he says were substantial market gains between 2016 and 2020 on Wednesday.

The story was first reported by Marketwatch on Wednesday.

His post, in the Wall Street Bets subreddit, which has 1.2 million users, garnered 775 comments and more than 2,600 reactions, many from investors who wanted to know his secret.

IKnowTheCodings was happy to share a series of insights on his big market wins, including channelling a strategy used by investing legend Warren Buffett: buy and hold.

Read more: A part-time real-estate investor quit his traditional job 5 years after snagging his first deal. He shares his no-hassle strategy that's allowed him to travel the world with his 6 kids.

The investor, who works in web development, encouraged other Redditors on his post to hold on to their winning stocks for "easy retirement money."

At first, he got wiped out after starting with $6,000 on the markets in 2008, but eventually put in more money and saw steady gains for eleven years, he said, adding that "buy and hold is a valid strategy."

Markets Insider has not independently verified the Redditor's claims about his market wins.

"Nearly every lesson you think you've learned will be the wrong lesson to apply at some point in the future," the user said in an interview with MarketWatch.

Read more: David Herro was the world's best international stock-picker for a decade straight. He breaks down 8 stocks he bet on after the coronavirus decimated markets — and 3 he sold.

Betting on Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), he picked up 50,000 shares at about $11.50 two years ago. Today, he still holds 40,000 AMD shares. On his positions, his investment was up by more than a million dollars a couple of times, but dropped at the end of last year making him sell some shares to buy a house.

"Hold your winners longer. This is harder with options," he told a fellow Redditor. When asked whether he was thinking of cashing out, he said: "Nah, gonna stay with it."

Currently, he is most excited about his positions in Norwegian Cruise Line (NC LH) and said that while other cruise and travel stocks would be good, Norwegian is his "favorite." His conviction picks at the moment are split between AMD and NCLH.

"They have 18 months of liquidity," he said of his cruise-line stock. "If cruises aren't back by then there are a WHOLE lot of other businesses that will be going under in the meantime. I'm planning to hold until at least 40 and think it could be a year to a year and a half."

Read more: Bank of America says a new bubble may be forming in the stock market — and shares a cheap strategy for protection that is 'significantly' more profitable than during the past 10 years

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