Tuesday’s Goldman Sachs hearings were “awful for the securities industry,” Cramer said during Mad Money, and “embarrassing for Goldman” and its CEO, Lloyd Blankfein. After hours of testimony before the Senate, even he felt his alma mater “did indeed, at times, shoot against their very own clients.”

But is that a reason to stop buying and selling stocks?

Absolutely not, Cramer said. The big lesson learned today is that you have to do it yourself. And that’s what Mad Money is all about.

“Every day I teach you how to do it yourself, how to buy and sell stocks on your own … so you won't have to rely on anyone in the business, good or bad,” Cramer said. “Because if you can manage your money on your own – and you can do it yourself, just as well as the big boys – if you're not dependent on anyone else's advice, then you will never be swindled.”

Cramer acknowledged that there are many times when a broker or financial adviser will put the interests of the institution ahead of those of the client, which is what we heard today about Goldman “in some very big transactions,” he said. But the best defense against this malpractice is to know what you own. Never buy a financial product of any kind unless you understand it. In fact, Cramer has a rule of thumb to follow: If you can’t – in three sentences – defend the stock, bond or, ahem, CDO as part of your portfolio, then forget it.

Take Ford Motor. Cramer doubted that any Goldman trader would have been able to hurt investors with this stock if they knew what Ford does, how it does it and what CEO Alan Mulally has done for this company. And that’s why he constantly tells viewers to do the requisite research before they buy.

Now, Cramer wasn’t saying they’ll never lose money. But D.I.Y. investors often can sidestep messes like the one we saw in Washington today. Even though the game may seemed rigged, Cramer thinks you can “still play without getting played – as long as you analyze stocks yourself.”

Do that, he said, “and you will never ever be a victim.”

Cramer's charitable trust owns Goldman Sachs.

Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC

Questions for Cramer?

Questions, comments, suggestions for the Mad Money website? madcap@cnbc.com