How to play
You get $100,000 of play money and one simulated market year. Buy and sell fictional companies, ring the bell, and see if you can beat the market.
The goal
A season is one full market year (252 trading days) played in 30 sessions. At the end you get a letter grade based on how your return compares to the market average. Beating the market is hard. That is the lesson.
The market average here is the Pretend 32: an equal-dollar mix of all 32 companies in the game. If you simply bought a little of everything, you would score about even with it.
Sessions and the bell
- Each session covers about 8 trading days. You make your moves at the last closing prices, then ring the bell and the days play out.
- In the real game one session plays each day at the 4:00 PM Eastern bell. Your 30-day clock starts the moment you start your season.
- Everyone plays the same scripted market year, so scores are fair to compare. Which year you get is picked at random so nobody can spoil it for you.
- Finish early and the game ends. You can always play again with a new season.
Vacation passes
You get 3 vacation passes per season. Use one and the session you skipped is saved for later, and your end date moves out by one day (up to 3 days). Skip a day without a pass and the market still moves. Your portfolio rides along and you do not get that session back.
Buying and selling
- Market order: buys or sells right now at the last closing price.
- Limit order: you name a price. It fills if the stock reaches it during the session. If the stock opens past your price, it fills at the open. Anything unfilled expires when the session ends.
- Fees: every trade costs 0.10% (at least $1). Lots of tiny trades add up.
- No borrowing and no short selling. You can only trade with the money and shares you have.
News, earnings and rate decisions
- After each session you see the biggest headlines. Some move one company, some move the whole market.
- Earnings reports are on the calendar. Companies report after the bell and the price reacts at the next open. They can jump or drop 10% or more overnight.
- Analyst previews are hints, not facts. Companies beat and miss forecasts all the time.
- The central bank meets 6 times a year. Higher rates usually hurt fast-growing tech and utilities. Lower rates usually help.
- Stock Split, our bull, pops up with a heads-up when something important is coming.
How you are graded
Your grade comes from points versus the market: your return minus the market average return. Example: you gain 18.5%, the market gains 9.6%, so you beat it by 8.9 points. That is a B+.
| Grade | Points vs market |
|---|---|
| A+ | 15 or more |
| A | 10 to 15 |
| B+ | 5 to 10 |
| B | 2 to 5 |
| C+ | 0 to 2 |
| C | -3 to 0 |
| D | -8 to -3 |
| F | below -8 |
After your last session you get a debrief: your return quarter by quarter, how bumpy the ride was, your best move, and the three decisions that cost you the most.
Tips from Stock Split
- Spread your money across several sectors so one headline cannot sink you.
- Check the earnings calendar before you decide how much to hold.
- Cash is a choice. It is safe, but it will not beat a rising market.
- Selling in a panic locks in the loss. Chasing yesterday's winner is risky too.
- Remember that every market year is different. A plan that wins in a rally can lose in a crash.
Words to know
- Share
- One small slice of a company.
- Sector
- A group of similar companies, like Tech or Energy.
- Earnings
- A company's report card, published four times a year.
- Index
- An average of many stocks, used to measure the whole market.
- Limit order
- An order that waits for the price you choose.
- Drawdown
- How far your portfolio falls from its highest point.