Trading Contests

I watch these trading contests on this website, and i just looked at the FXCM contest and the leader is up 590% in about a week of trading a $50,000 demo acct. A profit of about $295,000 in 6 days trading.
I dont get it.

Why is this guy and people like him in an FXCM contest on myfxbook.com ?

Why arent they in a 10 million dollar house on Lanai, Hawaii trading from there just 1 week a month ?

Something is wrong here. I would find the $50,000 to trade live if I can profit 300k in 6 days.

Wouldn't you?

Am I missing something here ?

If I would participate in one of these contests, I would do it through the following (highly risky) method:

1. Take a strategy that makes money (even when its like 1% p/month)
2. Inflate your position sizing strategy to the max
3. Cross your fingers and hope for the best.

I have read several interviews from those who won the FXCM contest (king of the month contest I believe) wondering how they did it (usually they come from china), and have seen allot of answers that go like: 'look at your margin' - that makes me believe that they really inflate their positions. Concluding that it is more luck (what is there to lose in a demo account contest, the winner takes it all) than wisdom.

These are just my thoughts, or how I would do it... 😄

Ray, this is a very good question and one I have asked certainly from the last 2 contests. The last winner had >$5.5million equity after a month's trading!! Now these guys obviously do possess a great skill simply from the point of view of win/loss ratio. We all know in contests that much greater risks are taken than trading a live account but even so with the skill these guys have + whatever strategy it is they are using I would have thought that doubling a live account in 1 month would be relatively easy by simply taking the lowest risks trades. It appears a lot of these guys are Indonesian - maybe they also have a good psychological aspect to trading which is important.
I have asked the question directly to a couple of them but didn't really get a straight answer. So like you I do not know the reason why these guys are not living in luxury land!! (or maybe they are!!)

I also don't know the answer, but I suppose, if they're still trading, they may be can blow up the money they earn as quickly as they can earn them.)) That's why they come back to the market.

RollingStones74 posted:
I also don't know the answer, but I suppose, if they're still trading, they may be can blow up the money they earn as quickly as they can earn them.)) That's why they come back to the market.

Thats probably true

its a psychological thing and some luck . its easy to bet DEMO MONEY but try to do it for real and you will be sweating like a ping in butchery every time you trade .

never same person WON any contest twice ..

luck luck and once again luck .nothing else .

That is why competitions should require more than simply the trader with the greatest return. There needs to be balance between the return achieved, and the risk taken in getting there. I agree with Roling Stones above, which worries me especially when these competition winners set up their very own signal services.

luck, luck and just luck.........nothing else.

these contests are not for the purpose of finding the best trader. It's about promoting the broker and luring newbies into thinking that forex is easy-so easy that you can get +1000% returns. And when the trader wins the contest, the broker forces you to take certain amount of trades with your own money first before you can claim their money. Why? because this will hopefully increase the chances of you losing your deposits when trading with real money. The payoff they have to give out is nothing compared to how much they get in return from you losing and from all the new newbie accounts that sign up as a result of the contest-like being the house in a casino.

Personally you should be suspect of any broker that sponsors these demo contests (including my broker Oanda). They are just out for new business while screwing over the winner.

And that is the TRUTH

i agree,just luck and we waiting for our lucky next contest on febr
good luck

sometime some trader like to brag :) and I think its very normal if peoples that have high skill in forex and wanted the world knowing his skill . maybe its not about money maybe its only his own nature :D lol

just my 2 cent :)