Competitions - ideas please

kimo'sabby

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Re: Forex Desk Closure

As part of my ongoing review of the services we provide to members the decision has been taken to close the Forex Desk. As many members will know, this project took a great deal of time and effort to get to launch. Since then we have not been able to devote the resources required to develop the platform in the direction that had been intended.

The end result of this is that there is much work to be done and I have taken the decision that our resources will be better spent elsewhere.

I realise that this decision will not affect too many people but one outcome that will be of importance to some is the effect on the monthly competition, making the current one the last of its kind.

This does not mean the end of contests, these are very popular and we need to find a way of making them a part of what goes on. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions on this i'll be glad to hear them.


What about a new comp? Only this time, make it a little bit interesting, put a bit of thought into it.

I'm assuming you want to offer something original and attractive to the existing, and prospective membership?

Of course, this is going to be a case of 'channeling' finances in the right direction.

Don't go cheap on us, Steve. More importantly, don't just fob us off with the same old ...., mate.
 
Re: Forex Desk Closure

Thanks for the post.

A big yes from me. Competitions should be a part of what we do and i'll try my best to avoid the same old that you mention.

I agree it does need more thought but I woud like to kick this off sooner rather than later so we'll need to avoid too much debate!

I have obviously read over previous competitions and there is stuff we need to do differently next time.

But there's no way we'll have all the answers and it won't be us taking part, so I'm going to copy these posts to start a new thread to see what people think.
 
I have copied a couple of posts that explain what this thread is about - we intend to start having competitions again and I want ideas for what they should be, how they should run etc etc.

So if you have a moment to comment please tell me anything you want. Out of this and our own ideas we'll hopefully pull together a workable framework.

So let me know.
 
I have copied a couple of posts that explain what this thread is about - we intend to start having competitions again and I want ideas for what they should be, how they should run etc etc.

So if you have a moment to comment please tell me anything you want. Out of this and our own ideas we'll hopefully pull together a workable framework.

So let me know.


Steve, here's an idea. As an accomplished person within this game,...why don't you give US some ideas?
 
I have copied a couple of posts that explain what this thread is about - we intend to start having competitions again and I want ideas for what they should be, how they should run etc etc.

So if you have a moment to comment please tell me anything you want. Out of this and our own ideas we'll hopefully pull together a workable framework.

So let me know.

An idea that NVP had, so I cant take credit, however i thought a great idea.
The thread was about entry and exits, where exits were the more important. anyway, N mentioned that we should have a little competition, take a random entry and its down to the person who can make more with an exit of their choice, but the entry all must be the same. How you might achieve this I dont know but it wouldnt be that difficult, with some tolerance allowed. such as broker spread on open for example..then lets say you have one or two weeks to manage that trade. Highly unlikely you will get two with the same exit. keep doing that over an over again, possibly allowing multiple trades open at the same time for example. We could all do it from a demo account that way noone should be too bothered about verifying the results.
There you go, thats one idea, im sure theres loads more
 
An idea that NVP had, so I cant take credit, however i thought a great idea.
The thread was about entry and exits, where exits were the more important. anyway, N mentioned that we should have a little competition, take a random entry and its down to the person who can make more with an exit of their choice, but the entry all must be the same. How you might achieve this I dont know but it wouldnt be that difficult, with some tolerance allowed. such as broker spread on open for example..then lets say you have one or two weeks to manage that trade. Highly unlikely you will get two with the same exit. keep doing that over an over again, possibly allowing multiple trades open at the same time for example. We could all do it from a demo account that way noone should be too bothered about verifying the results.
There you go, thats one idea, im sure theres loads more

Thanks malaguti. Good idea.
 
Has anyone else got any suggestions or, failing that, a link to a thread here on T2W - or further afield - that has ideas that might inspire?
 
My suggestion is to make the results based on pips and points not on percentage gains ...
 
We sometimes play a game in a group I'm in that goes something like this:

Your dear old Aunt has left you £10,000. Half in cash and half in shares of xyzplc. You can only trade in xyzplc and you have one month see what you can turn your inheritance into.
 
Hi folks,
What would you like: a silly fun comp' or a serious comp' grounded in reality?

The Silly Fun Comp'
Most competitions hosted by brokers or vendors of trading related products and services encourage competitors to take massive risks in an attempt to turn a relatively small starting balance into a huge sum in a very short period of time. In the 'Beat the Broker' comp' hosted by ETX Capital in 2008, some people turned $20k into $200k in a single day. (The implication to anyone following or participating in such comps is that they too could repeat the performance of the winners if they open an account or purchase the software / service etc.) Comps such as these are great fun, but they are criticized on the grounds that they encourage a gambling mentality and poor risk and money management. On the other hand, are most T2W members savvy enough to realise that returns of this magnitude simply aren't possible in the real world and a comp' should - first and foremost - be fun? Would such a comp' be appropriate on a forum whose membership comprises many green about the gills newbies?

The Serious Comp'
One way to help avoid reckless trading is to adopt tar's suggestion and base the comp' around pips / points accumulated, not on account value or percentage growth. As it's possible to have a positive gain in pips but a negative PnL, we'd have to assume a fixed position size on every trade. This may result in the rules being quite restrictive and a rather dull comp' by comparison. Does this matter do you think, as a comp' based on sound trading principles and proper risk and money management is likely to struggle to match the excitement and razzmatazz of a comp' where participants make (paper) fortunes in a day?

So, what sort of comp' should we host: one based on pure fantasy or one rooted in something resembling reality? Or one of each perhaps? Thoughts please!
Tim.
 
I regularly take part in the S&P 500 weekly competition. About a dozen regulars join in plus any outsiders, which is nice. We swap a bit of gossip, lulz etc. Learn a bit from each other too. Only bragging rights for the winners. Strangely enough it is not won by the same people every week.

Now that's well and good.

As for a new competition, hows about - A forex comp.

A grid laid out with the 12 or so major pairs of forex along the top side and anyone wishing to compete at the side. Just a simple daily up/down call by US opening times 9.30 am - 9.00 pm EST. 1 point for the correct answer at daily closing.

Perhaps Steve could scratch up a small prize like - buying tokens for the quarterly winners ??????????
 
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Perhaps Steve could scratch up a small prize like - buying tokens for the quarterly winners ??????????

ETX are currently running a competition giving away a free ipad each week, You just predict the weekly P/L of one of their traders, Im sure one of the forum sponsors could bung a ipad once a month as a prize.
 
The Serious Comp'
One way to help avoid reckless trading is to adopt tar's suggestion and base the comp' around pips / points accumulated, not on account value or percentage growth. As it's possible to have a positive gain in pips but a negative PnL, we'd have to assume a fixed position size on every trade. This may result in the rules being quite restrictive and a rather dull comp' by comparison. Does this matter do you think, as a comp' based on sound trading principles and proper risk and money management is likely to struggle to match the excitement and razzmatazz of a comp' where participants make (paper) fortunes in a day?

So, what sort of comp' should we host: one based on pure fantasy or one rooted in something resembling reality? Or one of each perhaps? Thoughts please!
Tim.

Yes Tim that's what i was talking about , although you may have some traders going long Euro and Pound at the same time , so it should be IMHO : one position at a time ( but no restrictions on frequency ) , no exotic markets ( EUR/ZAR ) , fixed size .... that will make it much more interesting , again IMHO :) .
 
I regularly take part in the S&P 500 weekly competition. About a dozen regulars join in plus any outsiders, which is nice. We swap a bit of gossip, lulz etc. Learn a bit from each other too. Only bragging rights for the winners. Strangely enough it is not won by the same people every week.

Now that's well and good.

As for a new competition, hows about - A forex comp.

A grid laid out with the 12 or so major pairs of forex along the top side and anyone wishing to compete at the side. Just a simple daily up/down call by US opening times 9.30 am - 9.00 pm EST. 1 point for the correct answer at daily closing.

Perhaps Steve could scratch up a small prize like - buying tokens for the quarterly winners ??????????

Good idea but IMHO outright trading is much more interesting than a simple binary Up/Down .
 
Not an entirely new idea, but how about getting a SB to sponsor a comp where you start with a virtual £100 and can only trade £1 pp, the winner being the one with the most after a month, the prize being the account balance in real money. Boring to some, perhaps, but gamblers would soon blow their accounts, the winner would need more than luck, and everyone else might learn something.
 
Good idea but IMHO outright trading is much more interesting than a simple binary Up/Down .
Hmmm, interesting! Is tar right do you think - or is Pat's suggestion sound as a pound, or dollar or euro? Either way - it raises a number of things we need to consider . . .

What's the purpose of the comp'?
Obviously, any increase in pages views would be welcome, but I think the main objective would be to help stimulate quality content. The weekly S&P 500 comp' is fun and well managed (full credit to Atilla and Robster on that front), but it doesn't generate that much in the way of insightful trading comment.

Should it be market specific?
Many comps - as per Pat's suggestion - are market specific. Forex is an obvious choice as the focus for the majority of members is on this market. But, that alienates index futures, commodity and stock traders etc. Does this matter do you think - or would it be better to have a generic comp' whereby members can enter and trade any market / or instrument they want?

Thanks for the feedback everyone - keep it coming!
(y)
Tim.
 
What about a comp based on Teh Hares coin toss.
Teh Hare tosses his coin once a day and we have to predict if it will land heads or tails. At the end of each month, add up contestants daily picks and the member with the highest score receives a badge.:LOL:
 

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What about a comp based on Teh Hares coin toss.
Teh Hare tosses his coin once a day and we have to predict if it will land heads or tails. At the end of each month, add up contestants daily picks and the member with the highest score receives a badge.:LOL:

That's a vendor badge I assume!
 
imo - it should be well defined and constrained with a serious bias rather than fun. Trading is business not pleasure. :idea:

I favour FX and Indeces. Equities more trouble to manage than they are worth.

Calls should be as mentioned restricted to 1ppp and measured in ticks not monies or %.

I would favour a longer term to short term league type tables so we can see consistency. No weekly stuff but more monthly or quarterly, annual etc. Prizes should be big to attract players. Considering quarterly and annual winners 1/2/3 etc., type setup etc should justify the bigger prizes.

I also believe bigger prizes will attract bigger players.

+ full transparency on all trades...


Great idea the competition. (y)



PS - When I first joined this site there was a DOW competition I think and I never knew why it simply disappeared one day. :rolleyes:
 
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