The rules behind
every trade
Every StockMates game runs on the same rulebook — different market, same signals, same risk limits, same way of deciding who wins. Here's exactly how it works.
See Live Games arrow_forwardIt's a simulation — and anyone can join for free
No real trades are ever placed and no real money is risked. Game length, prizes, and rules vary game to game, but every entry route — paid or postal — gets you the exact same shot at ranking.
Simulation Only
All buying and selling happens with virtual funds. Your starting balance has no cash value and can't be deposited or withdrawn — it exists purely to let your Mate trade on real market data without financial risk. The only real money that ever changes hands is a cash prize paid to eligible top-ranked players when a game ends.
Length & Prizes Vary
Every game has its own start date, end date, and prize schedule — shown on the Games page before you join and fixed once that game opens. Some games are entirely free with no cash prize; others carry real cash prizes for the top 3 ranked players.
Subscribers & Postal Entry, Equal Footing
Cash-prize games are entered via a paid subscription for convenience, but paying is never mandatory — a free postal entry route is always available, processed with strict equality. Postal entrants get the same access, settings, starting balance, and start time as paid subscribers in the same game. Both routes share one join deadline, at least 10 working days before the game starts.
No trade without two or more signals
Your Mate scans the full market universe for each game and only acts when at least two of these line up — never on a single indicator, and never on vague sentiment alone.
How many signals it needs, and how fast it acts once it has them, is set by your own Aggressiveness slider — more cautious players need more agreement before a trade is placed.
You can narrow what it's allowed to screen, too — Sector Focus restricts it to specific industries, and on games where it's enabled, an optional daily focus-list lets you tick specific symbols to narrow which candidates it considers that day.
RSI < 30
Oversold — a bounce is expected
MACD Crossover
Momentum has turned positive
Volume Spike 150%+
Above the 20-day average
Above 50-Day MA
Price is in an uptrend
Rules your Mate can't break
You set these six controls when you configure your Mate — once set, they're hard limits, not suggestions.
Aggressiveness
How many signals are needed and how quickly your Mate acts once it has them — from a handful of high-confidence trades to frequent, fast decisions.
Risk Tolerance
How long your Mate can hold a losing position before cutting it loose — from a quick exit to riding out bigger swings.
Position Size
The maximum share of your portfolio a single trade can use — a hard cap so no one trade can sink your whole game.
Stop Loss
An automatic exit if a position drops by your chosen percentage — non-negotiable, and it happens without you having to be watching.
Take Profit
An automatic exit once a position gains your chosen percentage, so wins get locked in systematically instead of given back.
Sector Focus
Which industries your Mate is allowed to trade — pick Tech, Finance, Energy, Healthcare, Consumer, or any mix of them.
A minimum 5% cash floor is always kept back, and every game pauses new trades 30 minutes before that game's own market close.
Same rules, different market hours
Every game trades on its own market's real hours — stock games follow that exchange's open and close, crypto never sleeps.
No live games right now — check back soon.
Ranked by Percentage Return
Players are ranked by percentage return on their virtual starting balance, not raw portfolio value — fixed prizes for the top 3 (£100 / £50 / £25 unless a game's listing says otherwise).
Ties
A tie is the same percentage return, rounded to 2 decimal places. Tied players pool the prize money for every rank they occupy and split it equally — e.g. two players tied for 1st pool the 1st and 2nd prizes (£100 + £50) and get £75 each, with 3rd place paid as normal to the next player down. Only applies among the top 3 paying ranks.
Settled at Game End
Final rankings lock at the close of the final trading day's processing run.
Finish high, get paid
Every game ranks players by percentage return on their virtual starting balance — no real money is ever risked, but the top finishers on a cash-prize game win a real cash payout when that game ends.
Full Prize Rules arrow_forwardHow a position closes
Most exits are automatic and happen without you lifting a finger. A few are judgement calls your Mate makes — and you can always step in yourself.
Automatic
- • Stop loss triggered
- • Take profit triggered
- • Holding period exceeded for your risk tolerance
Mate's Judgement
- • A higher-conviction opportunity is found
- • The original reason for entry no longer holds
Take Over, Any Time
- • Buy or sell any screened stock yourself, alongside or instead of your Mate
- • A manual trade placed while the market or game is paused queues automatically and runs the moment trading reopens — it's never rejected outright
StockMates is a simulation. No real trades or orders are placed on any stock or crypto market, and no real money is invested or held. StockMates is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and nothing on this page constitutes financial, investment, or trading advice. Simulated results do not predict or guarantee real-world performance. See our Terms of Use for the full rules.
Ready to configure your Mate?
Pick a game, set your six controls, and let your Mate trade inside the limits you choose.
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