I just created the game for 2010-2011. Everyone is free to join. It is completely free, there is no charge. The rules are as follows:
If you are not familiar with the virtual stock market game, the game simulates the actual stock market. The same securities are listed as in the real NYSE and NASDAC. The stock prices mirror those of the real stock market in real time. The game simulates an online brokerage (ie ETrade, Merill Lynch, Scott Trade, etc.). Any orders that you issue will have about a 20 minute lag time between when you issue the order and when it executes. Prices will change during the 20 minute delay. You are allowed to sell short, use limit orders and stop loss orders.
You can only have one order issued per share. So if you have 100 shares of Intel stock, you could issue a stop loss order for 50 shares, a sell order at market value for 25 shares and a limit sell order of the remaining 25. There is a $9.95 charge per order so the last example would cost your porfolio $29.85 to enter.
You are allowed to buy stocks on margin up to 100% of the value of your porfolio. So if you porfolio is worth $100,000, then you can buy another $100,000 worth of stocks on margin. There is a 6% interrest rate assessed on what is bought on margin according to the game rules (I am not sure if the game actually charges the interrest rate or not). Keep in mind that both gains and losses are doubled if you buy on margin. A 10% total loss to a porfolio that used 100% of its funds and 100% of its margin is a 20% loss to the total value of the porfolio. You can have your entire porfolio wiped out buying on margin so be aware of the risk if you do this.
You will need to create an account. The game ID is PFF10to11.
Disclaimers: This is not an "official" PFF game. Cliff has not endorsed it. I am not nor is anyone else in the game affiliated with Marketwatch so we are usually as clueless about technical problems as you are. This is a game for having fun and learning about the stock market. Take all advice voice in this thread with a grain of salt. If you use said advice in a "real" trade, then you do so at your own risk. Most important of all, have fun in the game.
[This message has been edited by Doug85GT (edited 08-02-2010).]
Tried several times to join. Got as far as "join game" and clicking that button resulted in "Proccessing error occurred--please return to homepage to start over" even tho it shows me logged in to marketwatch.
Will try again tomorrow.
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 08-02-2010).]
Why, does this new game have a minimum share trading price of $2/share????
This means, there can be no stock traded if the share price is below $2/share at the time the trade .
The last game--and the one before that, had a minimum share price of $.01/share. It also means, if a player owns stock in the game that drops below $2/share, he will be unable to initiate any trade as long as that share price is below that threshold--he's just stuck with it till it comes back up.
That would have really sucked in real life, to have been unable to buy Ford Motor Co in Feb 2009, when it's stcok price was at $1.85/share.
This sucks--it's trading at $2.01 after hrs and I can't place an order because of the $2.00 min rule, and the fact that last close was $1.95??
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 08-02-2010).]
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06:32 AM
Rallaster Member
Posts: 9105 From: Indy southside, IN Registered: Jul 2009
Wow, yeah. That may be a big part of your problem..
So is Don and he is getting it to work so we will see what happens, but then he is old and has all sorts of time on his hands to WAIT for things to load.
Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't. Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.
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08:37 AM
PFF
System Bot
Doug85GT Member
Posts: 9704 From: Sacramento CA USA Registered: May 2003
Why, does this new game have a minimum share trading price of $2/share????
This means, there can be no stock traded if the share price is below $2/share at the time the trade .
The last game--and the one before that, had a minimum share price of $.01/share. It also means, if a player owns stock in the game that drops below $2/share, he will be unable to initiate any trade as long as that share price is below that threshold--he's just stuck with it till it comes back up.
That would have really sucked in real life, to have been unable to buy Ford Motor Co in Feb 2009, when it's stcok price was at $1.85/share. This sucks--it's trading at $2.01 after hrs and I can't place an order because of the $2.00 min rule, and the fact that last close was $1.95??
Sorry about that. I just accepted the default settings. I just removed the minimum settings. There is no minimum anymore.
So is Don and he is getting it to work so we will see what happens, but then he is old and has all sorts of time on his hands to WAIT for things to load.
Steve
No I don't--I have to go fishin too--and just this morning, I went out, fed the dogs, and watched the grass grow for awhile---busy busy busy.
Ok-you're right---I have no life. :|
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09:53 AM
Rallaster Member
Posts: 9105 From: Indy southside, IN Registered: Jul 2009
-.27%?? Not even 1/2 a percentage. Geeze--You're not even down $1000. That's nothin--it's gonna get worse--and maybe better. I've been down to $60K total net worth before.
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10:07 AM
Rallaster Member
Posts: 9105 From: Indy southside, IN Registered: Jul 2009
What got me is that I did bought the stocks before the market opened and they opened low. Even though they are up since market opened, I have still lost. Had I waited until the market opened to buy them, I'd be up.
But, you had no way of knowing. Mondays are often tuff anyway---so are fridays. In the 1st PFF game, I learned--be liquid friday about noon, cuz gawd only knew what wuz gonna happen over the weekend. That was 2009, when the bottom dropped out--again and again. Bears ate my lunch because i tried to stick with bluechips. An Oct I won't forget------------in real life.
Click and load a marketwatch news page--before ya load the game each day. Click on your stock before market, to see what it did after hrs the day before and "before the bell".
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06:27 PM
Aug 9th, 2010
dn69141 Member
Posts: 448 From: Sidney Nebraska Registered: Feb 2010
Only because a. We're still in a bear market. b. The Game doesn't pay dividends. c. We start with only $100K. d. Market volatility.
In real life, I buy and hold according to fundamentals, long term yields, 90 day running averages, and political atmosphere influences on the sector I am interested in.
Day trading is much safer, as long as there aren't huge swings in voliatility. If that becomes the case, my gains can be wiped out with a single opening bell several cents below my sell limit or stop order.
This lead, will last only until some of the margin players get traction.
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 08-09-2010).]
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04:48 PM
Rallaster Member
Posts: 9105 From: Indy southside, IN Registered: Jul 2009
I read it this morning, so you don't have to worry about me. Skype has potential, but IPOs of late have been disappointing--not to mention few and far between. My opinion is-- IPOs are great if you want to grow your portfolio with them over the long haul, but 1 yr (The Game) doesn't offer too much in the way for a stock to grow. No one is gonna forget that Skype--no matter how good it is, is also still partially owned by eBay, and, if it does start making a bunch of $, look for the really big telecoms to move into the market as well, diluting the market share of Skype.
I might day trade it tho, if the price/share stays pretty low.
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10:42 PM
Rallaster Member
Posts: 9105 From: Indy southside, IN Registered: Jul 2009
I read it this morning, so you don't have to worry about me. Skype has potential, but IPOs of late have been disappointing--not to mention few and far between. My opinion is-- IPOs are great if you want to grow your portfolio with them over the long haul, but 1 yr (The Game) doesn't offer too much in the way for a stock to grow. No one is gonna forget that Skype--no matter how good it is, is also still partially owned by eBay, and, if it does start making a bunch of $, look for the really big telecoms to move into the market as well, diluting the market share of Skype.
I might day trade it tho, if the price/share stays pretty low.
The article I read this afternoon said that Skype has some real potential to change the way the game has been played of late and might turn the tech IPO's around for this 1/4.
2010 IPOs and last 2 qtr 2009 IPOs have done dismally. Against the S&P 500, the 2010 IPO index is down over 30% from their initial price offering. Here's a snapshot of just about the top 1/3 of them as listed aphabetically..
Even Tesla--touted as the tech mother of all IPOs is significantly down off it's initial price and all but 2 of the 69 listed on the 2010 index are all down off their highs.
You can see them all at the following link---look at the column to the far right just before "alerts" for a comparison to their hi/lows--it tells the story.
Day trading is much safer, as long as there aren't huge swings in voliatility. If that becomes the case, my gains can be wiped out with a single opening bell several cents below my sell limit or stop order.
This lead, will last only until some of the margin players get traction.
Gonna be an ugly morning--and depending what comes from Bernake and company, perhaps a bad afternoon as well.
Here's why ya have to watch your stops and watch what happens "before the bell" and after hrs.
My stock closed yesterday just off it's high, with my stop loss order set about 2% above my initial purchase price. The stock climbed a bit in after hrs, but, dropped like a rock in pre open "before the bell" trading this morning, to below my stop line. So, (and some of ya may not know this) since buy and sell orders are on a 20 minute delay, but cancel orders are not, and can be done even when the market is not open, I cancelled my stop @ 1.58 order, because I knew the stock was going to open at well below my stop level, which would have resulted in a big loss, and I would have had to chase it around to repurchase. When the exchange opened, my stop was already cancelled.
I did this because a. I knew this stock's 2nd qtr earnings report was due out today and guidance said it would be pretty good, especially going forward into Q3 and Q4. b. Fundamentally, it's a good company. c. The Federal Reserve board is meeting today to address deflation, China, and trade balances. They probably won't do much, but there is uncertaintity early this am and the market hates uncertainty, but it will pass within a few days for good stocks.
The next thing I did after cancelling my stop, was to watch for what I hope is a downside resistance point, and placed a 'buy' order for the same stock using what liquidity I had available.
The 'buy' order completed at my limit, and the stock price has now risen up a couple pennies above that purchasse price. May take a few days for the whole portfolio to again show a gain, but I think (hope) it will.
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 08-10-2010).]
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10:41 AM
Rallaster Member
Posts: 9105 From: Indy southside, IN Registered: Jul 2009
Wow, yeah. That may be a big part of your problem..
