If you’re playing TraderChamp and picking five random stocks because you recognize the company names, you’re probably not going to win many contests.
That’s like playing fantasy football and drafting somebody just because you like their jersey.
TraderChamp is pretty simple. You pick five stocks, compete against other players, and see whose lineup performs better when the market closes.
But just because the game is simple doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a strategy.
1. Pay Attention to What’s Happening Before the Market Opens
If you’re picking stocks without checking what’s happening in the market, you’re already putting yourself at a disadvantage.
Look at premarket activity. Check which companies have earnings announcements, major news, or unusual trading volume.
A company announcing better than expected earnings could have a big day. Of course, it could also drop if investors were expecting even more.
The point is to know what’s happening before you make your picks.
2. Stop Picking the Same Five Popular Stocks
Everybody knows Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, Amazon, and Microsoft.
That doesn’t mean they’re going to outperform everything else today.
Sometimes the biggest opportunities come from companies nobody’s talking about.
If you’re playing against somebody who picked the same popular technology stocks as everybody else, finding a less obvious stock that has a monster day could give you an advantage.
3. Don’t Forget About Inverse ETFs
Here’s something a lot of people overlook.
You don’t necessarily need the stock market to go up to win a TraderChamp contest.
Inverse ETFs like SQQQ are designed to benefit from certain market declines. SQQQ targets three times the inverse of the Nasdaq 100’s daily performance, before fees and expenses.
Now, these are risky investments. If the market moves against you, leveraged inverse ETFs can lose value quickly.
But in a contest where you’re trying to pick the best performers for the day, they’re worth understanding.
Why sit there complaining that the market is getting destroyed when you could be looking for stocks or ETFs that might benefit from it?
4. Don’t Chase a Stock Just Because It Went Crazy Yesterday
A stock jumps 20% yesterday, and suddenly everybody wants it in their lineup today.
Why?
Yesterday’s performance doesn’t count toward today’s contest.
Maybe the stock keeps climbing. Maybe investors start taking profits and it drops.
Just because somebody scored three touchdowns last Sunday doesn’t mean they’re doing it again this Sunday.
Look at what’s happening today, not just what happened yesterday.
5. Remember, You’re Trying to Win a Contest
This isn’t the same thing as building a retirement portfolio.
You’re not necessarily looking for five companies you want to hold for the next 20 years.
You’re trying to identify five stocks that could perform well during that day’s contest.
That means paying attention to catalysts, momentum, market conditions, and what other players might be overlooking.
And don’t assume picking five risky stocks automatically gives you the best chance to win. A lineup full of big losers isn’t doing you any favors.
At the end of the day, TraderChamp is about making better picks than your competition.
You don’t need to be a Wall Street analyst to play.
But if your entire strategy is picking Tesla because you drive one, you might want to rethink that lineup.