Want to top the leaderboard? These strategies work in our simulator and echo how real investors think — minus the real-money pain of learning them the hard way.
Apply as you read: keep the stock market simulator open in another tab and test each strategy with $10,000 of play money.
The single biggest edge in any market game is not picking one perfect stock — it's not blowing up. Spread your starting cash across several sectors so one bad ticker can't sink your whole run. See how to diversify a portfolio for the why.
The instinct to buy what's soaring and sell what's tanking is backwards. Stronger results usually come from buying solid names on a red day and trimming winners into a green one. Watch the chart's trend and lean against the extremes.
You don't have to sell a whole position at once. Selling part of a winner locks in gains and frees up cash for the next opportunity, while letting the rest keep running. Watch your average cost in the portfolio table so you always know your break-even.
Going all-in leaves you helpless when a great setup appears. Holding 10–20% in cash means you can pounce on a sharp dip instead of watching it pass.
The leaderboard rewards return on investment (ROI), but the fastest way off it is a blow-up. Avoid betting the whole account on one volatile ticker. Steady compounding beats a lucky moonshot followed by a crash.
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Spread across sectors | Bet it all on one name |
| Buy dips in strong tickers | Chase what already soared |
| Trim winners in pieces | Hold and hope forever |
| Keep some cash ready | Go 100% invested |
Remember: these strategies are for a free educational game. Real markets add taxes, fees, and emotion. Not financial advice — see investor.gov.
Sharpen specific skills in the up/down prediction game and day trading simulator, then bring it all together in the simulator.
Diversify first so no single stock can wipe you out, buy strong names on dips, take profits in pieces, keep some cash ready, and prioritize steady compounding over risky all-in bets.
No. Concentrating everything in one ticker is the fastest way to blow up your run. Spreading across several sectors smooths the swings and protects your leaderboard ranking.
The leaderboard ranks by ROI, so focus on consistent gains and avoiding large drawdowns. Trimming winners and managing risk beats a single lucky moonshot that later crashes.
The core ideas — diversification, buying weakness, taking profits and managing risk — echo real investing principles, but real markets add fees, taxes and emotion. This is educational, not advice.