[First post] I participated in a Trading Cult trade contest → the result was 〇th place,,,,

Nice to meet you. My name is Tomasu.

This is my first time posting here. I appreciate your support.




So, without further ado,

I entered the FX Trading Contest!

This is a story from a little while ago, but I entered the February edition of the Trading Cult contest.

I hadn’t even known such contests existed until now, but after researching, I found it surprisingly easy to participate.

No risk with a demo account!

Since this contest uses a demo account, you don’t need to put real money at stake, so you can challenge yourself with no risk. Moreover, there’s an appealing setup where the top three prizes are real money.

Also, it’s said that winning may give you an advantage in Trading Cult trades, but I’ll skip the details here.

It’s surprising that such contests exist not only in the world of online games but also in the trading world, and that entry has become so easy.

Goals and Strategy

I plan to win this contest and then register as a pro trader.
If I trade normally, I think I can aim for about 10% monthly return.

However, the contest has strict rules.

If you lose 5% in a day or 10% of the maximum margin, you are disqualified.

Therefore, I intend to keep the loss rate per trade to within 1%.

Competitive Levels



There are two entry methods.
Looking at last month’s results,

Through TOOOOOOi: about 3% monthly return could secure a prize.

Direct entry: the level becomes even higher.

I will first aim to win via TOOOOOOO. The level is lower, but I believe accumulating results is important first.





My block had 281 entrants initially

From the results so far, if you achieve a positive balance, you seem to rank high.



My Goal This Time

I don’t intend to aim for first place from the start; my goal is to finish within the top 20. This will allow me to win some prize and also to build a record for the contest.

In addition, as a numerical target, I aim to achieve 8% profit in one month. This is to satisfy the criteria for the next challenge, the “2-step evaluation.”

This two-step evaluation is a litmus test to determine whether I am truly worthy of real funds being entrusted to me.

Achieve 8% profit on the first attempt and

Achieve 5% profit on the second attempt → if not cleared, cannot proceed to real trading.

In other words, if I don’t reach 8%, the company will not entrust me with capital.
↑For details, please refer to the rules of each prop trading company.


I want to feel through this contest how long and with what lot size it takes to reach that 8% target.

That understanding is the main goal of this challenge.



On the Strictness of Rules and Strategy

Some may think, “8% profit is enough in one day, right?” However, the rules of this contest and the two-step evaluation (the so-called judging) are very strict.

If you lose 5% of margin in one day or 10% in total, you’re disqualified

If you are disqualified in the two-step evaluation, the entry fee (tens of thousands of yen) will not be refunded

For example, if you bet big on day one and win, it’s easy to meet the goal, but if you move the wrong way you’ll be out. The entry fee would be wasted. Therefore, my strategy is to “build steadily day by day.”


On the Probability of Winning the Contest

From last month’s data, even a total positive of 1% could place within the top 10.

“Huh? If I stop trading now, I’m guaranteed to be within the top 10, right?” you might think.

It seems that many participants increase their trades toward the end and end up self-destructing. Also, those who bet big on the first day and lose often retreat immediately.

Honestly, being in the top 3 is very appealing, but prizes for other positions are lukewarm. Therefore, I think many people aim for third place and lose balance and end up losing.



Results Announcement

I’ll skip ahead, but one month has passed, so I’ll announce the results.


Despite modest results, I earned a prize.

The result was 13th place, with a growth rate of 3.72% and a win rate of 53.19%.




At one point the growth rate reached as high as 5%, but on the final day I attempted to reach top 10 and failed. After that, I avoided being overtaken and cut losses, ending the contest.





In this trading contest, I traded many times over a month-long period. Even in demo, I was so focused that I set aside work.

Conclusion

If I base my money management and methods on this experience, after passing the two-step evaluation I could achieve substantial results with a 15 million yen margin account.

Specifically, if 15 million yen increases by 3.72%, that yields 558,000 yen, and if 80% of that is my share, 446,400 yen is my profit.

From these results, I’m confident that proper money management and strategy will continue to be useful even after passing the prop trading evaluation.



Thoughts on the Trading Contest

This trading contest was a worthwhile arena to test one’s own ability.

However, for traders who already have decent strategies and money management, the challenge may not be something you do many times.
It takes too long.

Also, to aim for top placement efficiently, it feels better to target early opportunities, perform two or so one-shot trades, then quit while ahead for time efficiency.

Rather than always trading seriously, a smarter approach could be to stop trading once you achieve a big result (for example top 3 or a large discount) and then observe from there.

Additionally, many traders enter only at the beginning of contests and continue only if they show results that allow them to exit with a profit.

If you increase contest entries, your chances of success in at least one rise.

In future trading plans, if you focus on prop trading, always maintain multiple contest entries. Or after passing the two-step evaluation, also maintain accounts with other firms that consistently generate income as a risk management strategy.

If you chase relatively large sums through prop trading, there may be a tendency for your income to rely on this channel, I think.

Also, although TOOOOOO offers a tactic for big one-shot gains, I felt that gradually trading with smaller lots leads to more stable long-term income.

If you’re disqualified, you have to start over. It’s important to be mindful of other people’s money being entrusted to you.

So, while I’m not sure whether I will trade in Trading Cult by using coupons in the future, there are many prop trading companies, so I will challenge the two-step evaluation at a reputable one among them.

That concludes my first post, including thoughts on the contest. Thank you very much.