Difficulties
Difficulty-dependent Settings
Number of Cards
Rounds
Time to answer
How long should the cards be visible
–
Market Events
Adjustable Settings
Show the expected value as a hint *Playing with this hint your score will not be added to the leaderboard.
Ace value
Place cards back in deck
Show balance
Your Statistics
Below you find an example with dummy data of what your quiz statistics would look like. Sign up to track your own scores!
Explanation
Participate in a card-based expected value game often encountered in trading interviews. Practice with the typical questions and scenarios you might face in your upcoming trading interview. In this game, you’ll be the market taker.
Start with 500 points and a full deck of cards. Each card has a specific point value: numbers are worth their face value, so a 4 is worth 4 points, King equals 13 points and Ace 14 points.
How to Play
- Initial Setup
Three cards are dealt face-down on the table each round. - Offer to trade
The game will present a market for the sum of the cards’ face values, not necessarily the expected value. - Buy or Sell
Calculate your expected sum and decide whether to buy (expecting a higher sum) or sell (expecting a lower sum). - Reveal Cards
The cards will be revealed for a customizable X seconds, and then turned face-down again. - Profit/Loss
Compute your actual profit or loss and submit it.
Example
- Game’s presented value: 21
- Your calculated expected value: 24
- Since 24 is higher than 21, you decide to buy
- Actual card values: {4, 10, 6} (Sum: 20)
- Profit/Loss: -1 (because you bought at 21)
Scoring
- Correct Profit: Added to your total points.
- Correct Loss: Subtracted from your total points.
- Incorrect Profit: No change in total points.
- Incorrect Loss: Double the loss is subtracted from your total.
Pre-Game
Ready for the cards to open?
Computer Quotes: buy at, sell at
How much would you pay to show the first card, assuming you have to trade?
To determine how much you’re willing to pay to reveal the first card in a 52-card deck, follow the steps in lesson ‘Market Taking – EV Card Game Explained’.
Shares
What is your profit or loss?
Write a minus (-) sign before the number in case of a loss.
You started with 500 points. What is your final score?
Extra Information
The interviewer could ask you what you would have been willing to pay for the first card, if you could change the volume of the trade. Some people would say: “A very large sum, because as soon as your new EV is higher or lower than the provided quotes I could make an infinite amount of gains!” However, you need to take into account that there are also possible outcomes where you don’t make money, for example when the total ends up exactly at the quotes, or within the quotes. In this case, you would lose all your money. Therefore, you need to say: “I’m prepared to take more risk, because the odds are higher that the information will lead me to a profitable decision, however I need to limit my risks not to go bankrupt.”