Secrets of the Masters trading game queries

Beginner Questions
#1

Hi, Just new here to forex - so apologies in advance for questions that might seem silly.

I have done the babypips school and am trying my hand at demo trading.

I thought I’d start with Van Tharps Secrets of the Masters trading game, so i could learn some money management skills and exit strategies.

However I’m having difficulties understanding the user interface,

Is there any reason I’m being restricted to 1:1 gain. Im thinking its to teach me conservative trading, and to limit my stop losses - but still unclear about how it would work…

if im buying shares / forex at a certain bid-ask spread - and i enter the number of shares i want to buy. why do I have to put a specific amount again in my $risked per share area - wouldnt that be normally calculated. Or again, is it a way of teaching me stop-loss strategy. (ive understood pretty much everything in the pipsology school - except for a few varied topics like pivot points, stop loss and the importance of leverage (pretty important pieces I know)

or maybe just a basic understanding of how the game works. as I’m getting too confused with the basic details, before i get on with the real (i.e. demo stuff)

the understanding i have at this level is that Im supposed to get to an understanding of betting small percentags of my equity and RR ratio of 1:1 (in the initial levels).
does that mean i have to place bets equivalent to 1-2% of my equity and just be patient so those 2%s add up over the 75 trade limit at each level.

he also says that usual systems work 25-40% of the time, (though i have heard the usual average is closer to 70%) and that you limit your losses to R and your gains to 3R - but im still unclear as to how this occurs in the game or in reality.
so some confusion between Tharp speaking about a real life strategy of netting 3R but a game strategy of 1R

basically what im doing is fiddle around the share prices so I can buy enough shares and risk enough so that theyre both 2% of my equity and I ride enought trades and time. (and getting confused about pretty much everything - what with all those hopes post pipsology school - i am trying a GFT demo account and a dealbook 360 account based on tymens reccos, but thought id give this a shot first) - which i dont think is how im supposed to be trading (or am I?)

#2

No offense, but you need to get rid of that software… It looks like a piece of junk to me.

Real trading (forex anyway, I’ve never done stocks) is nothing like that!! I cannot see what this could possibly be teaching you. :confused:

As for win rates, R:R level, etc it just depends on the type of trader you are and the system you are using.

I have one system that has a 30% win rate and makes me just as much money as my other system with a 70% win rate.

Dump that software fast and get a demo account with a forex broker. :slight_smile:

#3

I agree with you phil. That program looks like its from Windows 95 LoL. ya, download a demo and learn from that. Read the school again, try out a bunch of different trading strategies in the Holy Grail section and find what works for you.

#4

Phil, Virtecs

I understand that you advise me to do a demo account, and I have started on one too - like i said from GFT trading…

I felt it important to learn exit strategy and money management as very few other programs OR systems teach you this.

I understand you arent able to help me with my specific queries. (i.e. i ask how i could visit Japan, and its seems like youre saying skip japan - you should do china - which could be good advice. but aslo an answer to a different question.).

I dont mean to be awkward, but i feel this game is a fast track way to learn lessons not taught elsewhere i.e. position sizing, expectancy, money management, exit strategy etc. (lessons that would take me weeks, months or even years to learn ,if ever with a demo account)

again, the game isnt about entry strategy. it teaches you like everyone experienced is saying. systems dont matter as much as the people who use them.

i only have 5 days left of the demo, and would like to utitlise them to learn the important lessons… then ill get back to demo trading and hopefully get better there…

here’s a link that explains the game
Trading Simulation Game

#5

I understand what you’re saying, but still disagree with it. :slight_smile:

I do agree that proper MM, exit strategies, etc are the most important aspects of trading. And I also agree that it will take you weeks or months to learn them demo trading.

All I’m saying is that I just can’t understand how you can learn these things without practicing on real forex charts.

I will download the demo and give it a shot, I may be wrong. :smiley:

Plus, as long as you don’t pay the $195 for the full version there’s no harm in the game, so if you believe it can help there’s nothing to lose but a little time.

#6

I download the demo, read through all the introductions and instructions, and played a few rounds.

It is a complete waste of time!!

You simply cannot trade that way. You have to learn how to read the market to know where to place your stoploss and to predict how many R-multiplies a trade is likely to go before it reverses.

You cannot do these things with math and probability. You have to understand how the market works and moves in order to do them.

If you wish to finish your demo then great, by all means do so. Just please do not waste your $195 dollars buying the full version of the game.

Please understand that I’m not attacking you personally, just the game. I commend you for trying to learn about money management and position sizing!! You’re a step ahead of most new traders because of that. I’m just saying that this game will not teach you those lessons.

#7

The goal of the game is to teach position sizing when you no your win ratio or R multiple. It’s been a while but it’s basically your edge in a trade. It was a boring game, didn’t teach me much except not to commit more than 2 percent of my account to a transaction. Basically it was everything I learned to be a successful horse racing bettor. Find your spots and bet 2 percent or 5 percent if your dutching two horses. When you unlock the game and there are unlocks out there its basically the same lesson over and over again. You just to pile up the imaginary cash. Boring.

The other huge fallacy in the game is thinking that you will be able to consistently grind out that kind of multiple. How? By automatic trading. I doubt it. The how is the critical part, position sizing is important but 2 percent is 2 percent. If you use a Kelly Criterion you have a bit of math to do to figure that out but it’s still a fixed formula.

The game doesn’t teach you anything about forex: figuring out your entires and exits, setting your stop loss having a reason for your trade other than wanting some action. If you want to use Metatrader or one of the simulators out there to test trades you might learn something useful or open an account with a broker like Oanda that allow you to wager…er take positions with variable sized lots. You can size your lot so each pip is a 10th of cent or less and get something that is closer to reality. Take your 195.00 dollars and put it in one of those accounts and really learn something. Maybe a 2.00 dollar loss doesn’t mean anything. But a string of 9 or 10 trades going south may cost you 20 bucks but a ton of hurt pride. It’s the reaction to the string that will teach you something.

Also resist the temptation and this is my experience to think some piece of software is going to squeeze years of experience in a matter of weeks. It doesn’t. You can test years of a trade quickly and that’s good, but the real learning, the instinct takes time and practice. Look at the charts daily open a demo account apply a method. Van Tharps game won’t do that for you. You do that for yourself.

#8

dallia, that sounded like a stand up comedy… :smiley:

i agree its just a massively overcomplicated way of saying stick to 2% and keep riding the boat till you reach Home and collect your next level bonus…

phil

agree with you there. it minimised reading the market, trends or any other important factor… like i said an overcomplicated way of saying 2%

back to demo trading… will see how that goes… will pester you with some hopefully sensible queries next time…

thanks guys saved me a lot of time and energy… (and my first post too :))