Take your time to do research on coins listed on big exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, etc., these coins aren't getting anywhere so you don't have to rush (FOMO). The reason why big exchanges are like what @Xal0lex said, i.e., the liquidity. The longer you hold, the risk will be higher (and the return as well). So if you are a beginner, you might only want short-term trading. The easiest way to do research is by sorting the coins by their market cap.
So many coins can only come and go and a few can pump huge so hurrying up does actually matter. If we are late, we should not insist of push our selves on the coin who just pumped because there is a big chance that we will get trapped inside it. There are still plenty of fish in the sea so it's better to just move on the next potential one.
A poor coin will look decent in the hands of a big exchange and there are people who scout them there so it won't run out of liquidity at first. New risky coins are only good for short-term HODLing. Only the risk is going to rise the longer you HODL them and not the reward. If we want a coin for the long-term, active old coins are the only way to go. This is also perfect for the beginners.
