About a year ago, I seriously considered joining Maverick Trading. I admired their structured approach, their emphasis on discipline, and their dedication to helping traders achieve strong results. But life had other plans for me. Still, the idea lingered.
When I stumbled upon the Flat Earth Trading Society experiment led by Robb Reinhold, it seemed wild, hilarious, and – surprisingly – effective. Using Scrabble tiles, Ouija boards, and even witchcraft to pick trades, he proved that exiting a trade matter more than entering it.
Experiment results? Full details in their video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkAhKbCqyJs
- Total return: 15% (14.67% after fees)
- Win/Loss %: 40%
- Profit factor: 1.38
- Reward/Risk ratio: 2:1
That was enough to spark my curiosity. So I’ve decided to run my own version of the experiment; on a smaller account and using only individual stocks. I’m leaving out ETFs and other instruments.
My setup
- Platform: Interactive Brokers demo account.
- Starting capital: €5,000.
- Software: Trader Workstation.
- Frequency: One trade per week (will try to do it on Mondays, aligning with U.S. market open hours).
- Stock selection: Scrabble tiles.
- 52 trades. One trade per week for a full year.
Entry rules
- Daily chart.
- Daily volume higher than 1M.
- Stock price higher than 10.00 USD.
- Trade the trend.
- If the 13 EMA (Exponential Moving Average) slope is going up, it will be a LONG trade.
- If the 13 EMA slope is going down, it will be a SHORT trade.
- If the 13 EMA slope is going sideways, use scrabble again to choose a new stock.
- Position size will be calculated as 1% of the total account value if stop loss is hit. Position size calculator will be used the get the stock amount: https://wealthyretirement.com/stock-position-size-calculator/.
Flat Earth Trading Society YouTube channel has a more detailed video about the entry rules: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlsrwCKf4BM.
Exit rules
Before I dive into this section, it is important to understand what Average True Range and Trailing Stops are.
Investopedia: The average true range (ATR) is a technical analysis indicator that measures market volatility by decomposing the entire range of an asset price for that period.
Investopedia: A trailing stop is a stop-loss order that moves with the market price, protecting profits on a trade from a market reversal.
- Risk 0.5%, because the account only has €5,000.
- Initial Trailing Stop will be 2 ATR.
- Once 2 ATR profit is reached, trailing stop will be updated to 1.5 ATR.
- Once 4 ATR profit is reached, trailing stop will be updated to 1 ATR.
- No other changes will be made whatsoever.
Again, Flat Earth Trading Society has a more detailed video about these exit rules: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2C5DJw6sns
Journaling
As I learned along my short investment life, documenting/journaling is a required practice, like it or not.
Journaling helps track decisions, emotions, setups, and outcomes, turning each trade into a learning opportunity, especially when looked at it at the end of a year. It’s not just about recording wins and losses; it’s about understanding patterns, refining discipline, and staying accountable.
For this project, I’ll be using TradeBench, a free and intuitive platform that allows logging entries, exits, position sizes. By journaling each trade, I’ll be able to review the full picture after 52 trades.
Final notes on the experiment
As Robb Reinhold mentioned as well, the purpose is not to beat a specific index or something like this, this is a pure position management experiment. And I’m doing it out of curiosity 🙂
Trading routine
- Find stock using scrabble.
- Check if volume higher than 1M.
- Check if price higher than 10.00 USD.
- Determine order type, long or short, by checking the slope of the 13-day EMA indicator.
- Going up – long.
- Going down – short.
- Going sideways – go back to step 1.
- Position size
- Get current price.
- Get current ATR.
- Calculate stop price.
- Get current account value.
- Use position size calculator with this info.
- Calculate number of stocks to buy.
Closure thoughts
First trade entered on September 29, 2025. A: Agilent Technologies, Inc. was the ticker winner on the 3rd attempt. Actually, after reviewing the video I noticed I searched for AENN instead of AEEN and there is a AEE stock. Chaos at entry on the first trade, LOL.
Okey… so, I guess I can use AEE stock if I will get to A letter again.
Check the video below to see how I chose the first trade, submitted the order and then journaled it.