# News.com.au SuperTrader competition - Win 10K



## So_Cynical (23 August 2011)

Westpac and news.com.au are hosting a new ASX trading game with a final prize package valued at 15 grand (10K cash) and 6 weekly prizes of 1K 

http://supertrader.news.com.au/

You can trade *any* ordinary stock listed on the ASX....game runs for 6 weeks starting Sept 5 and of course registration and play is free, maximum investment in any one stock is 20% of your portfolio value and you get 100K play money to start.

I'm in


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## skc (24 August 2011)

So_Cynical said:


> Westpac and news.com.au are hosting a new ASX trading game with a final prize package valued at 15 grand (10K cash) and 6 weekly prizes of 1K
> 
> http://supertrader.news.com.au/
> 
> ...




This has got to be a joke right?



> * The competition is based on a 20 minute delayed feed. For the purpose of the competition, the market hours are approximately 10:20am to approximately 4:40pm AEST on business days.






> All orders will be initially recorded as Open Orders on your portfolio page. All 'at market' orders will be filled and confirmed on a random basis between 20-35 minutes after being placed (to negate any advantage to those who may have access to live ASX quotes). Limit orders will be open for at least 20-35 minutes, and will remain as Open Orders until they are filled, when and if this Limit price is reached (unless otherwise cancelled).




The winner will be the person who can spend most time sitting in front of computer scanning for shares that exploit this. What a joke!

*Secretly signing up*


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## pavilion103 (24 August 2011)

So_Cynical said:


> Westpac and news.com.au are hosting a new ASX trading game with a final prize package valued at 15 grand (10K cash) and 6 weekly prizes of 1K
> 
> http://supertrader.news.com.au/
> 
> ...




Loving it mate. Thanks for the heads up. Much more appealing to me than the regular ASX game where stock selection is so small.


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## investorpaul (24 August 2011)

skc said:


> This has got to be a joke right?
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Yer does this mean you could find a share that say opened at $1.01 and quickly rose to $1.10 within the first 20 mins of trade.

You then place a limit order to purchase at 1.01 and because that was a quoted price during the 20 mins it would be exectuted. (althought it randomly happen within 20-35 mins).

You then obviously place a sell order at 1.10 and because it also also traded at this price you the order will eventually be executed albeit with a delay?

Surely this is not the case, however thats how it reads to me. Otherwise what is the point of a limit order because you will know 20 mins in advance what the real price is and thus will be at some point in the competition.


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## skc (24 August 2011)

investorpaul said:


> Yer does this mean you could find a share that say opened at $1.01 and quickly rose to $1.10 within the first 20 mins of trade.
> 
> You then place a limit order to purchase at 1.01 and because that was a quoted price during the 20 mins it would be exectuted. (althought it randomly happen within 20-35 mins).
> 
> ...




Well either that or you get your order filled randomly some where between $1.01 and $1.10. Either way - stupidest competition format ever!


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## skyQuake (24 August 2011)

skc said:


> Well either that or you get your order filled randomly some where between $1.01 and $1.10. Either way - stupidest competition format ever!




Trading with a 5~15mins of foresight. My god.
And to think HFT beat each other by nanoseconds.


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## investorpaul (24 August 2011)

skc said:


> Well either that or you get your order filled randomly some where between $1.01 and $1.10. Either way - stupidest competition format ever!




If it is just randomly filled then, what is the point of the limit order?

Unless they mean that you can place a limit order but it wont hit the market until after the 20 odd minutes (therefore you cannot profit from this opportunity becase the price well and truely risen by then).

However I do agree its a stupid format. I don't know why they dont just use the asx format that seemed to work ok back in the day


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## skyQuake (5 September 2011)

Bah - looks like they made some changes.

Order gets done in 30min. Prices are delayed by 20min. Net result = you are done 10min behind an order that is put in live.

Oh wells


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## davede (5 September 2011)

The game started today.

Looking forward to making some silly bets.

On the delayed prices:



> Please note that unlike normal share trading, SuperTrader operates on a delayed price feed and as such orders are also delayed by 20-35 minutes. This is to ensure no advantage is gained by players who have access to free live pricing such as those with a Westpac Online Investing account.




(appears when placing an order)


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## skc (5 September 2011)

davede said:


> The game started today.
> 
> Looking forward to making some silly bets.
> 
> ...






skc said:


> *stupidest competition format ever!*




I stand by my claim...


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## davede (5 September 2011)

It's less than ideal.

I guess that there are certain technical issues with getting price info that is not delayed.

However the competition is what it is. It is designed to get people to sign up with WPac and give them lots of commission. It's geared towards stock pickers with longer-time frames and certainly isn't designed for day traders to prover their charting skills


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## skc (5 September 2011)

davede said:


> It's less than ideal.
> 
> I guess that there are certain technical issues with getting price info that is not delayed.
> 
> However the competition is what it is. It is designed to get people to sign up with WPac and give them lots of commission. It's geared towards stock pickers with longer-time frames and certainly isn't designed for day traders to prover their charting skills




I will bet you any money the winner will be day trading and trading very frequently.


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## So_Cynical (5 September 2011)

skc said:


> I will bet you any money the winner will be day trading and trading very frequently.




Yep that's how it always works with the ASX game...anyhow im off to a good start, finishing day one in the top 150. 

I have 5 stocks (3 big caps, 1 mid, 1 micro) with 20K in each, all CD with a pay day in the next 2 weeks...so im going to have a little dividend play.
~


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## davede (6 September 2011)

Very interesting, thanks for that.

Congrats on being in the top 150 so cynical!

How many people are in the comp?


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## skc (6 September 2011)

davede said:


> Very interesting, thanks for that.
> 
> Congrats on being in the top 150 so cynical!
> 
> How many people are in the comp?




154. Lol JK


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## trillionaire#1 (7 September 2011)

im playing this game ,its a fun distraction during the day,im coming 72 on day 2
 i expect my ranking may fluctuate wildly as  i play around with micro cap stocks like,
 neu,and nwt!,good luck to all players ,especially me


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## So_Cynical (7 September 2011)

LOL ive slipped a little in the rankings. 

So_Cynical Overall Ranking 4326 of 12107 

The comp leader has made 57K in 3 days.


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## theartglasshouse (8 September 2011)

I am ranked 3035, but by tomorrow it will be a lot lower :

I will be happy to end up in the top 1,000, with a bit of luck!


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## LostMyShirt (8 September 2011)

So_Cynical said:


> LOL ive slipped a little in the rankings.
> 
> So_Cynical Overall Ranking 4326 of 12107
> 
> The comp leader has made 57K in 3 days.




Don't you find it odd?

I find it odd because the stocks he invested in were in the 1-2c region. From 0 trading activity he snagged a win and made 100 percent on a single stock (1 cent buy two cent sell).

I understand that to increase margins invest in small stocks so if they jump they really jump your percentage - but wow! what a pick! In the mean time I am getting my butt kicked...


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## skc (8 September 2011)

LostMyShirt said:


> Don't you find it odd?
> 
> I find it odd because the stocks he invested in were in the 1-2c region. From 0 trading activity he snagged a win and made 100 percent on a single stock (1 cent buy two cent sell).
> 
> I understand that to increase margins invest in small stocks so if they jump they really jump your percentage - but wow! what a pick! In the mean time I am getting my butt kicked...




This competition in no way represents true trading. The volume aren't there to transact the 0.1c to 0.2c positions.

The winner is simply the person who's best at exploiting the loophole of the game.

In that sense I guess it's a bit like the real market...


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## LostMyShirt (8 September 2011)

skc said:


> This competition in no way represents true trading. The volume aren't there to transact the 0.1c to 0.2c positions.
> 
> The winner is simply the person who's best at exploiting the loophole of the game.
> 
> In that sense I guess it's a bit like the real market...




Hah -well then perhaps the leader is onto something  Mikeek - the next Warren Buffet


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## tech/a (8 September 2011)

SKC is correct

So if you want to win a comp thats all you need to do and get lucky.
BUT
If you cant do the transaction then they should be disqualified.

Would be an interesting comp if only stock over $1 with average t/o over allocated capital ($100K) were allowed in the Portfolio pool.


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## Gerkin (8 September 2011)

skc said:


> This competition in no way represents true trading. The volume aren't there to transact the 0.1c to 0.2c positions.
> 
> The winner is simply the person who's best at exploiting the loophole of the game.
> 
> In that sense I guess it's a bit like the real market...




im in this.
i was top 20 after the first day and am up 8%, that said, i cannot believe that the leader is on 157k. the rules arebeing exploted. btw - i got into a stock which didnt even have the amount of turnover on the real market that day.


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## trillionaire#1 (8 September 2011)

ive also had a couple of trades where i bought more stock than the market had for that price?

my main complaint would be everyone being able to see what stocks you own.
finally could the leader be locked out of playing for the next week so we can all catch up!
68%profit in 4 days


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## LostMyShirt (8 September 2011)

Down about 4K off the 100 start - Lol I hope my stocks pull through - betting on the bulls personally...


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## emc2 (9 September 2011)

It's rather fun I think. Currently I'm up 2k 

I do struggle to figure out how some of these guys are making the big bucks out of it though. I see one someones portfolio they bought some shares for a price that is lower than the offer price.. not sure how he did it...


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## LostMyShirt (9 September 2011)

Lol, Got some of my money back today. Currently up $143 hahahahaha.

The problem I am facing is not being able to get in on time and end up missing the jump (EOD trader) and it jumps me in at the peak and target.

I placed orders today that took more than 45 minutes to execute. Luckily though I did snag a decent win - DTM - in at 9.8 and out at 12 (cents). Wishing I had real money on it though - everything I have is tied up and don't relly want to sell.


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## LostMyShirt (14 September 2011)

The winner of this game so far are winning from a system that I think I've uncovered.

1. Place a large series of buy orders for stocks that have recently traded in high volume where the last traded price is equal to the Bid, and the ask is a tick higher.

2. Place the buy as a limit order for the current Bid that is equal to the last traded price. ie Bid: 0.011 Ask: 0.012 Last traded: 0.011. The stock has to be trading in the very high millions for the game to fill your order.

3. Immediately place limit sell orders for the Ask. Once someone in the trading world makes a purchase you get your prize.

You are bound to hit one at the very least.

The early leader did this with stocks that ranged between 0.01 and 0.02 in the same system. Each tick is worth 100 percent, but the trading activity on said stocks are minimal, but still worth the shot - nothing to lose.

Apparently the organizers know of this because when I post this information into the traders chat it gets blocked.

So much for fair competition.... Trading comps just don't work as they do not reflect the real market and it's conditions.


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## LostMyShirt (15 September 2011)

Just wanted to confirm the theory.

It works pretty well as long as you stick to stocks that trade very high volumes. I know I said you are bound to hit one, but in reality you hit quite a few.


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## jah008 (18 September 2011)

LostMyShirt said:


> 1. Place a large series of buy orders for stocks that have recently traded in high volume where the last traded price is equal to the Bid, and the ask is a tick higher.
> 
> 2. Place the buy as a limit order for the current Bid that is equal to the last traded price. ie Bid: 0.011 Ask: 0.012 Last traded: 0.011. The stock has to be trading in the very high millions for the game to fill your order.
> 
> ...




You're pretty much right. Ive never traded before. Started playing this game. I've been in the top 5 since the start on the game. I signed up to westpac online investing to have a look at it. Figured if I can make that much money in the game I might be able to make a little bit for real. Havent traded yet. But the game is defiantly flawed. I don't think I could make 25% profit per day on the stock market. For example that game allows to place a sell limit order for a certain amount. Your order joins the line of orders for that stock and as long as the real world share has enough sell orders that day your stock will be traded and you can make a nice little 33% profit on 20k. But in the real world that stock has 174million shares to be traded before yours can be. When it can only take an hour for your stock to sell. On the ASX that same stock could take 3 weeks at the rate shares are traded.

But that said... its aimed at people like me with no experience. To give them a little taste of share trading. Hopefully rope them in and get them trading.


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## LostMyShirt (18 September 2011)

jah008 said:


> You're pretty much right. Ive never traded before. Started playing this game. I've been in the top 5 since the start on the game. I signed up to westpac online investing to have a look at it. Figured if I can make that much money in the game I might be able to make a little bit for real. Havent traded yet. But the game is defiantly flawed. I don't think I could make 25% profit per day on the stock market. For example that game allows to place a sell limit order for a certain amount. Your order joins the line of orders for that stock and as long as the real world share has enough sell orders that day your stock will be traded and you can make a nice little 33% profit on 20k. But in the real world that stock has 174million shares to be traded before yours can be. When it can only take an hour for your stock to sell. On the ASX that same stock could take 3 weeks at the rate shares are traded.
> 
> But that said... its aimed at people like me with no experience. To give them a little taste of share trading. Hopefully rope them in and get them trading.




Wow, you're in the top 5! Good on you man.

I only figured out this system too late. Now the leader is above 300K. He has made a total 300% in 2 weeks.... 

Anyway - the system works. It only works on high volume stocks at very low prices. If you check the leaders portfolio, there are no stocks in there above 5 cents...

Oh well... I really just wanted a go at  trader pro for a year - I'm a cheapskate


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## marioland (19 September 2011)

Just joined the comp. Looks like I've got some catching up to do.


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## Nortorious (30 September 2011)

Hey folks,

I'm participating in the SuperTrader game with a mate to see how we go. Only down 2% whereas my mate has lost 30% (given he doesn't have the time to watch daily movements of share prices as he is busy running a business).

Given the flaws in the game and obviously how loopholes can be exploited to perform well in the game, I'm not interested in winning the game by using unrealistic strategies (unrealistic to *me* if they were applied to the real market given buying and selling queues, also my risk appetite does not allow for investment/trading of stocks at 0.001c), I'm more interested in learning how my actual investment strategy would perform in the market.

Does anybody know if this game will be repeated or extended and/or if there are other games similar (I know the ASX has one). *Participating in this game sure beats paper trading using an excel spreadsheet!!*

All the best to those participating in the game and those performing well (regardless of the strategy you have employed). To me the value of what I learn is more important than my final placing in the game (but I'm not winning so I can say that haha).

Nortorious


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## jah008 (4 October 2011)

Nortorious said:


> Hey folks,
> 
> Does anybody know if this game will be repeated or extended and/or if there are other games similar (I know the ASX has one). *Participating in this game sure beats paper trading using an excel spreadsheet!!*




Playing this game has got me hooked on learning how to invest. And yes it beats paper trading!! Virtualsports.com.au i think created the game and they have run it before. I think the game is also hosted at Virtualshares.com.au


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## Nortorious (11 October 2011)

jah008 said:


> Playing this game has got me hooked on learning how to invest. And yes it beats paper trading!! Virtualsports.com.au i think created the game and they have run it before. I think the game is also hosted at Virtualshares.com.au





Thanks Jahoo8, I'll check it out.


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