How to Win a Trading Tournament: Rules From the Scoring
Practical rules for winning trading tournaments, derived from how places are decided: final result, liquidation, leverage caps, fees, timing and sizing.
There is no secret strategy that wins trading tournaments. But there is a scoring rule, and every rule rewards some behaviour and punishes other behaviour. Read the rule, and half the strategy writes itself.
On PnL World, places are decided by the final result after all fees and funding; equal results are separated by the smaller maximum drawdown; a liquidated account ranks last. See how tournament results are scored. These ten rules follow from it.
1. Never risk liquidation
A liquidated account finishes below every account that survived — even one that ended at −40%. No trade is worth that. Know your liquidation price before every entry.
2. Treat leverage as a tool, not a target
Short formats allow up to 20×, long flagships up to 10×. Higher leverage moves your liquidation price closer with every position. Most strong results are built far below the cap.
3. Your result is relative
You do not need a big number — you need a bigger number than the field. In a choppy market where most traders lose, a controlled +1% can win. Check the standings, but trade the market, not the leaderboard.
4. Count the fees
Every entry and exit pays a fee, and perpetual positions pay or receive funding. Fees are part of your result. A strategy of constant small trades can lose to fees alone.
5. Size for the format
An hour leaves little time to recover from a mistake; a month leaves a lot of time for small mistakes to add up. Size positions so that being wrong costs a small, known part of the bankroll.
6. Use stops — and take profits
A stop loss caps what a single trade can cost and keeps you far from liquidation. A take profit locks gains before a reversal gives them back.
7. Closing does not cost you twice
Open positions are already counted as if closed now, including the exit fee. Closing changes your result only by slippage. There is no reason to hold to the bell just to avoid the fee.
8. Doing nothing is a result
A trader with no trades finishes on exactly 0% — above everyone in a loss. On a day when the market offers nothing clear, patience is a strategy.
9. Keep the drawdown small anyway
Drawdown does not lower your result, but it decides ties between equal results. A steady path also keeps you far from liquidation.
10. Play the long formats
One tournament can be luck. The PnL World Rating (PWR) adds up every result, and long formats weigh far more — one Monthly Major is worth forty Hourly tournaments. A huge win margin earns no extra points: only the place counts. Consistent top places across many tournaments are what reach the top of the World Rankings.
The last-hour decision
When you are behind near the end, a large bet looks tempting. It can move you up several places — or, at high leverage, end in liquidation and the last place. Decide in advance how much of your result you are willing to risk to chase a place, and never risk the account itself.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Why it hurts |
|---|---|
| Max leverage from the first trade | liquidation price close from the start |
| Many tiny scalps | fees eat the result |
| No stop loss | one bad trade can end in liquidation |
| All-in at the end | liquidation means last place |
| Only short formats | they carry the least weight in the rating |
FAQ
Is it better to trade less? Not always — but every trade must be worth its fee and its risk.
Can a small positive result win? Yes. If the rest of the field is in a loss, a controlled +1% can win.
Does winning by a large margin give more rating points? No. Points depend on your place, the format and the strength of the field — not on the size of your return.
PnL World tournaments are simulated: trades are executed against live market data, but no real-money positions are opened on any exchange. Nothing here is financial advice.
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