Two months into the game, I’m surprised to see that I’m currently in first place. My virtual portfolio is up 3%. I made two purchases, both profitable (so far), one for a US stock ETF, another for an international stock ETF. Right now I’m 50% in stocks, 50% in cash.

Most participants have not made a single trade yet. Maybe they are waiting for that double-dip. If you’d like to join the game now, the game is still on. You haven’t missed much.

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Software picked, likely related articles at The Finance Buff:

• I Bonds: Hold Or Sell?
• My Future Is Not a Game
• Last Train for Mortgage Refinance

Among more than 100 Vanguard mutual funds, only 5 had a higher return in 2009 than I did in the game.

I only made 12 trades in this game. I did not buy on margin. Except one trade, I only traded ETFs, not individual stocks. I always had at least 25% of the portfolio in cash.

The good results are primarily driven by timing. I bought a few ETFs in February. Then I bought more in the first week of March. I took some profit in April and May (too early). When it was clear GM was going to go bankrupt, I shorted its stock. Here are my trades:

If you hear people say nobody can beat the market, it’s not exactly correct. People can and do beat the market in any year, as my trading game result shows.

I haven’t calculated my real portfolio’s rate of return for 2009. I’m confident it’s not as good as +48.6%. If I sold everything for cash on Jan. 1 and I did the same trades as I did in the game, wouldn’t I have made a lot more money? Yes, but I don’t want to do that. My future is not a game.

A game is a game. There’s no downside. I’m not going to gamble my hard-earned money. Getting the market returns is totally cool with me. I don’t *want* to beat the market because I don’t want the market to beat me. If I want to challenge myself and prove my superior skills, I can do it in a game. If I fail, I can always start over.

It’s no different from a shooting-the-enemy video game. You shoot the enemy and you advance. Once in a while, your character gets killed. But you the person is unharmed. It’s just a game. Does anyone want to play the shooting game with real guns and bullets? I don’t think so. Then why trade your real portfolio on a hunch?

If you have the urge to "play" with the market, do it in a game, not with real dollars. Have a view; act on it. Enjoy the excitement when you are proven right. Brag about it. A game won’t hurt you.

I created a new game for 2010 and beyond on Investopedia. It’s called TFB Invitational. Click here to join the game. Let’s have some fun trading fake dollars. Leave your real investments alone in a boring asset allocation. Your future is not a game.

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Software picked, likely related articles at The Finance Buff:

• TFB Invitational Update – March 2010
• Did Sunk Cost Fallacy Kill James Kim?
• I Bonds Rate Guess for Nov. 1, 2006