So You Think You’re a Winner – Why Not Try Your Hand at Forex Contests?

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Contests

While the world of Forex trading is friendly and community-minded, it is none the less very competitive. Generally, traders are  quite happy to be competing against the Forex market, but it has recently become very popular for traders to compete against each other.

Not content with winning trades and making profits, they are increasingly looking for ways to show their skill and showcase their trading strategies by taking part in Forex contests. There are obvious rewards for the contest winners, but other participants benefit by walking away with increased knowledge and experience. The world of Forex trading is one that requires constant learning and exposure to the market, and taking part in a tournament or competition is one way of doing this. Most of the time there is no fee to enter, so why turn such an opportunity down? You never know what you’ll learn and how it will impact on your future trading success.

If we’ve already piqued your interest, keep reading. And even if you’re not all that bothered, spend a few minutes reading what we’ve got to say, because it just might change your opinion.

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What are Forex contests?

As you’ve probably already guessed, Forex contests, competitions, or tournaments are arenas in which traders compete against each other. There will need to be at least two participants, but usually there are  a lot more. In order to take part, a competitor will need to have a trading account with the broker running the contest; but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a real money account, as a number of brokers offer demo Forex contests. The contest will take place away from the general trading area of a broker’s website, and rather than trade independently of each other, participants will compete against each other in order to be the best. The trading activity in a contest is usually no different from a regular trading environment. So, if you’ve achieved a certain level of success in the live trading arena you should try your hand and try to win a Forex contest.

Forex contests are a little different from Forex bonuses

It is a common misconception that Forex contests are just another type of Forex bonus. There are, in fact, a number of differences that show this isn’t true. Not all that long ago, Forex contests were a rare beast in the world of Forex trading, but more recently their popularity has increased. Today, you will find a long list of brokers that offer their clients the chance to participate in live contests and demo contests, competing for the chance to win some sizeable prizes.

In the case of a Forex bonus there is very little you have to do. Once you’ve opened an account and deposited some funds you’re all set up to receive the Forex bonus, whether it’s a welcome bonus, deposit bonus, or rewards. With a Forex contest, you will still need to open an account and possibly deposit some funds if you’re competing in a live contest, and then it’s time for the hard work to begin. A Forex contest requires you to compete against other traders, with the one achieving the best results being made the winner. The winner’s prize could be a range of different things. It might be a trading bonus, a gift, or even real cash. And some Forex contests will have more than one winner.

The different types of Forex contest available

Generally speaking, there are two types of Forex contest. You might find a number of other alternatives if you spend some time researching your options, but basically they fall into one of the following two categories:

Forex demo contest

The first step for any sensible newcomer to the world of Forex trading is to sign up for a demo account. Using a demo account new traders simply sign up and get to trade for a specified length of time completely free. There is no risk to your money, and you don’t really have to worry whether you win or lose. It is the perfect way to get some experience under your Forex trading belt and find your way around a broker’s site and trading platform. More recently, however, there has been another positive aspect to opening a demo account, and that’s the Forex demo contest. The trades you make won’t win you any money, but you do get to experience the thrill of the competition and possibly win a prize.

Real money contests

Real money contests are really for the more experienced traders, and have become popular with those traders who are a little bored with regular trading, and are looking for the opportunity to spice the experience up a little. A number of Forex brokers now offer contests for those who would normally spend on trends.

Let’s give you a few examples of the type of Forex contest currently available from some of the big names in Forex trading:

XM trading contests – XM is one of the Forex brokers we’ve had the pleasure of reviewing, and you can read more about them here. XM runs the Forex World Championship, which offers $500,000 in cash prizes at the final live event. There are 10 rounds, each with $50,000 in cash prizes, then a semi-final that will knock the contenders down to 10 winners.These 10 winning traders will travel to Thailand to take part in the $500,000 final, all expenses paid. There is no risk involved, and it’s free to enter, all of which can be withdrawn. Anyone with a validated XM real money account is entitled to participate.

OctaFX trading contests – OctaFX is another broker we’ve chosen to review, and you can read all the details in our review section. OctaFX run a good selection of contests for real money and demo accounts. The OctaFX Champion demo contest offers a $500 first-place prize, $300 for second place, $100 for third place, and a $100 consolation prize for the last place. The best real-money option was the OctaFX Supercharged Real Contest, but unfortunately, prizes were handed out in May and the contest is now closed. Prizes included a Tesla Model S car, a BMW i3 car, a Renault Twizy, an iMac, a MacBook Pro, a MacBook Air, and various other great prizes. Hopefully, they’ll be running this contest again soon.

HotForex trading contests – HotForex is another Forex broker that has decided to offer a great range of contests to keep their customers entertained. There is a demo contest, the HotForex currency wars contest, a free-for-all holiday tournament, a Rolex trader contest, a race to rewards contest, and the HotForex VIP contest. Registration for this contest has just started, and participants trade for the chance to win a luxury trip to Cyprus as well as cash prizes amounting to more than $10,000.

RoboForex trading contests – RoboForex offers a good selection of demo contests on a regular basis. ECN Pro account holders can take part in a weekly CFD contest using MetaTrader 4. The 10 best participants get a share of the prize money, which is transferred to a real trading account as a bonus. Another option is the Kingsize MT5 contest which is held every Thursday and runs for 24 hours. Again the 10 best competitors get a share of the prize. There is also a demo Forex contest held on a monthly basis.

This is just a very small selection of the contests currently available. We will aim to mention their availability when writing our reviews.

Is there a strategy for winning Forex contests?

Some of you reading this are going to be wondering whether there is anything you can do to increase your chances of becoming a winner. When you’re up against a thousand or so other participants it would be helpful to know what you can do to help you win. The trading strategy you normally use for your everyday trading is not necessarily going to work in the same way, as when you take part in a Forex contest the aim is not to just make a profit. This is part of your goal, but it also involves making as much profit as possible in the shortest possible time.

Anyway, going back to the original question; yes, there are actually a couple of strategies you can employ in order to increase your chances of winning Forex contests. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough room on this page to go into too much detail, but we’ll try and give you the lowdown a little later on. Suffice it to say that you don’t always need heaps of knowledge in order to become the name at the top of the list. One of the ways is to go all-in. Look for the most volatile pair at the beginning of the contest, and then open a trade for as large a volume as is possible. There are only two possible outcomes to this approach. Either you will be stopped out straight away, which means you’re out of the contest; or you will double or triple your account, in which case you keep going. This is the simplest strategy of all, so why not try it and see if you’re successful?

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