Why You NEED to Play a Virtual Stock Market Simulator Game

If you want to learn and practice and test out various stock market strategies as a new beginner investor, one of the best ways to do this without worrying about losing any real hard cash is through a virtual stock market simulator game. There are TONS of stock market games out there, so try them all out and take your pick on which one you like the best.

My first experience with playing stock market games was in a financial class I took in college. I didn’t know anything about stock market investing then, and so I just picked companies I liked back then. This is not a very strategic way to make money, because even companies you love and use and make a ton of revenue and profit do not always perform well in the stock market.

So…I learned a little about playing the stock market game back then and I thought, oh I guess this could be fun and at least no risk entertainment. But it wasn’t until in the last 5 years did I really see the true benefit of these simulation games, and I want to share it with you now so that you too can use the free services available out there to test out strategies, learn the market, and develop your skills before you jump in and invest real money.

Here are the Reasons You Should Play Stock Market Games:

1. Get a feel for the market.
2. No emotions. The emotions when you are using real money are high – with fake money you’re not going to go through the mind games.
3. Learn how to react quickly.
4. Develop and test new strategies and theories. I will always emphasize that you need to come up with your own strategies for stock investing. No matter what type of investor you want to be, you will be able to try out and test a number of things with no risk.
5. No Risk. NO RISK! Experience is the best teacher, and this is a free way to learn everything you need to know.

There’s also some other perks to these games – there are leagues, there are competitions, you can earn all sorts of things and rewards all while learning. While that’s not the reason I would suggest you sign up for various virtual investment games, it is a nice added benefit to know there are some extra included perks.

Play the stock market game for at least 30 -60 days before investing real money so that when you DO trade real stocks, you will have some more knowledge and are prepared for the risk vs. reward that comes with stock market investing.

Any thoughts or questions about playing stock market games? Share your comments below!