Winning in Fantasy Stocks Game is a Matter of Skill… or Chance

Going through the concept with a fine-tooth comb.

In mere decades, e-gaming has exploded in popularity attracting a deluge of players and becoming one of the most burgeoning industries in the world. See it for yourself. As of 2021, the global gaming market is worth more than $160B (by comparison, the global record industry’s value is slightly more than $21B). E-gaming has outperformed even movies and sports, and it continues to grow exponentially. The kicker? Gaming provides accessibility.

It is human nature to gravitate toward something that grants people accessibility. In the earlier days, many sports competitions were pre-planned. People had to travel from different corners of the world to catch a glimpse of a sporting event, and that is why the numbers were substantially lower. But e-gaming made a couple of its magic tweaks to change everything for good.

This is true even for the stock market. It’s not just for a privileged group of people anymore. Everybody can thrive on its ups and downs. Fantasy Stocks games provide the real-life opportunity to enjoy the stock market roller coaster and win even when the market is plunging. How so? Does it mean the results of the games can be predicted? Let’s sort it out.

What is a Game of Skill?

To begin with, if the outcome of a game can be foretold by doing some mental work, this game is considered to be a game of skill. To put it simply, a game of skill is powered by players’ expertise rather than luck. That’s not to say that luck has nothing to do with the game results. It sure does. But individual mental (or physical) skills play a bigger role and help players develop their own strategy to garner a successful outcome.

Many games of skill require specific knowledge and a lot of practice outside the virtual competing arena to actually gain the coveted skill. They spur players to explore their own capabilities and analyze the insights of a game. Down the road, they get rewarded for developing proficiency with palpable cash results. Sounds all warm and fuzzy but what’s the Law’s take on that?

The Legal Component

Engaging in games with an element of skill in which players control the outcome is not considered gambling unlike games of chance which are subjected to a legal ban. That is why it’s so important to understand the difference between these games to stay on the safe side. So where is the fence between skill and chance?

The location of the fence is distinguished with the help of the most frequently used test, the predominant test. This test is employed by many US courts to look at the role that skill and a chance each take in determining the outcome of a game. This test defines the dominating element by using a linear scale with pure skill on one end and pure chance on the other. Take chess for instance. On the scale, chess will be placed on the pure skill end, while casino games (not all of them though) will be located on the opposite end. There’s a spectrum of gaming activities lying in between, so if a game is closer to the skill end, it’s classified as a game of skill, and if it’s closer to the other end — gambling.

Which Side of the Legal Fence is StockBattle?

In all ways, StockBattle is a game of skill. Though it may have a tiny component of randomness, higher-skilled and more knowledgeable users have higher chances of winning. If players select stocks randomly without a thorough review of the market along with the economic component (and we bet you tried this), their portfolio won’t stand a chance against the ones who bother to spend some time analyzing the fabric.

In the case of StockBattle, where all the games are backed by real-time data, outcomes are not determined by chance but are rather achieved by players’ skills, making Fantasy Stock competitions legal in most US states. But then it begs the question, what skills does one need to win in StockBattle? We are happy to divulge the answer.

Some Aces Up Your Sleeve

For a start, to gain the successful outcome of the games, players should be well-versed in finances and maths to analyze data fast. Such a background gives an advantage over those who are also after the money pool, with a few exceptions of course. The thing is, having an analytical mind per se doesn’t always lead to victory. A player should put it into practice while doing research on economic factors and day-to-day chart patterns that affect the market directly.

Another skill (two to be more precise) worth honing is focus and resilience (and you’d better have a reptilian level of this!). What do they have to do with winning StockBattle, you ask? Well, these skills are needed to sift through the abundant information and focus on the critical one. These skills will help develop a strategy and obtain your own stock market toolkit with methods, maneuvers, and tactics. They are needed to overcome “valley” moments to get to the “peak” ones. Players should stick to their guns and not let anyone or anything lead them astray.

Record keeping is a bonus key to gaming success. Master Fantasy gamers learn from their mistakes. But how is it possible to keep them all in mind? Even if you have a good memory, it’s impossible. Keeping a journal with the info about all the games you played along with their results might help. Reading through it provides one of the easiest ways to identify your right and wrong moves.

So take no chances, use skills, and kick those corporate Wall Street butts!