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Market Making

Trading Game

Quote markets and trade a partially hidden hand of cards against three bots, rotational or open outcry market making.

Settings

Game difficulty

Upgrade to unlock Medium, Hard and Custom difficulty.

Number of cards
3
Number of rounds
4
Time to answer
60s
Min spread
1 pts
Max spread
6 pts
Show balance
On
Enable market events
Off

Statistics

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Leaderboard

Last 30 days
1doTheMath+$17,552
2HectorS+$16,000
3MarkovianOption+$5,055
4RationalTail+$2,654
5FriendlyGhost+$2,181
6ConcaveCondor+$1,983
7batty+$1,615
8lapaabl+$1,613
9PlatinumYield+$1,161
10Nikhil+$1,146

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How to play

Objective

Maximize your expected profit over a series of trading rounds.

How to Play

At the beginning of each round, you will be presented with a set of cards. These cards are valued between 2 and 14, with the Ace being worth 14. Some of these cards may be turned face up, while others remain face down.

2♠2
3♠3
4♠4
5♠5
6♠6
7♠7
8♠8
9♠9
10♠10
J♠11
Q♠12
K♠13
A♠14

Card values

Market Maker Quote

Alongside the cards, you'll see a market maker quote displayed as X at Y. Here's what they represent:

  • X (Bid): The price the market maker is willing to buy at.
  • Y (Ask): The price the market maker is willing to sell at.

Market Making Modes

  • Rotational: market making occurs in a specific sequence, each round another player quotes the market.
  • Open outcry: market makers shout bids and offers simultaneously, the first valid quote becomes the market maker.

Time To Trade

With a starting budget of 500:

  • Decide the number of units you wish to trade.
  • Choose whether you want to buy (at the Ask price) or sell (at the Bid price) those units at the given market maker quote.
  • Just like in the real market, an offer remains valid only for a limited amount of time. So, act quickly!

Valid Orders

Ensure that your orders are valid:

  • You should be able to afford any long position you take based on your budget.
  • Similarly, your balance should always cover the maximum possible loss for any short position you take.

Outcome

Once you make your decision:

  • All cards are turned face up.
  • The sum of the card values represents the market price for that round.
  • Based on your decision and the resulting market price, you'll either realize a profit or a loss.

Track Your Position

Being aware of your position is crucial:

  • After each round, you'll be asked to report your return.
  • For higher difficulty levels, you'll also need to maintain a mental record of your balance throughout the entire game.

Market Events

When enabled, the following market events can randomly occur during each round:

Card X is worth Y this roundOnly cards worth 10 or more this roundOnly cards worth 7 or less this roundOnly even cards this roundOnly uneven cards this roundOnly red cards this roundOnly black cards this round

Keep in mind that these events can influence the validity of your order.

Strategy

The market maker provides random quotes. Your advantage lies in your understanding of expected values and the insights from the face-up cards. Use this knowledge to outsmart the market maker and anticipate the market price. If you enable market events, be prepared for occasional changes to the card deck, which will influence and challenge your optimal trading strategy.

Best of luck in your trades and strategizing!