Some notes
This article is not for people who already understand this topic. Experts can skip it.
The language used will be simple and casual so that everyone can approach it more easily.
This is not instruction or financial advice. It is only a personal perspective to help you truly understand and maybe use it if needed.
In my community across different platforms, I’ve noticed many questions like these:
“Alpha tournaments are terrible. The token price crashes badly when rewards are distributed.”
“The reward isn’t even enough to cover the participation fees.”
“I really don’t get it. Why do people join just to end up losing money?”
So what is the real problem with these tournaments?
To sum it up, there are only two core issues:
- Why do we compete in tournaments?
- Why is the reward value high at first but much lower when we actually receive it, sometimes causing heavy losses?
From the perspective of the page Mr V98, I’ll answer each of these questions. Take advantage of the weekend when you’re less busy and read everything carefully. And always remember: this guide is not teaching anyone what to do. It’s simply a personal sharing for those who don’t fully understand yet, so they can optimize profits.
Let’s start.
First question
I’ll give a direct example with specific numbers.
You trade 66,536 volume per day (vol x4) or 131,072 (vol x4), which equals 16,384 real volume and 32,768 real volume respectively.
The trading fee (if you trade carefully) is 3.6U per 16.3k real volume.
For one scoring cycle, you will spend: 3.6 × 15 = 54U
This is your stable maintenance cost.
That means every 15 days, you automatically lose 54U (calculated for 16,384 real volume — calculate the rest yourself).
So why compete? What do you gain and lose?
When joining a tournament, obviously you spend more time and more trading fees.
That’s what you think — correct, but not entirely.
Of course, competition costs time. However, it doesn’t always mean higher fees.
Here’s a practical example:
With normal volume 16,384 = 3.6U.
If a tournament’s base volume (x1) is 245,760, you spend about 54U.
If it reaches 300k real volume, you spend 66U.
Now stop and think.
If you receive a bad reward of 30U:
66U – 30U = 36U
How does that look?
36U < 54U fixed cost.
(* Experts reading this might find this funny or oversimplified. But again, this article is not for experts. Explaining this perfectly is difficult because some tournaments are x1, some x4. The main point I want to address is the "disparity in fees"..*)
HOWEVER, this rarely happens.
Because if you trade carelessly during tournaments, the market can dump on you and you’ll pay much higher fees.
So please trade very carefully and learn proper execution methods.
BUT it’s not always pure risk.
If you know about the incidents with LISA and Timi, two tokens that allowed trading at 3.2U per 16k real volume, when the market suddenly crashed 50–70% in one trade (for non-tournament traders), you’ll understand why many people quit Alpha after that crash.
In this market, nothing is guaranteed.
(* These calculations only consider tournament volume. Read everything and calculate yourself. Nobody joins only one tournament in 15 days.*)
Failing tournaments comes down to your own calculations. Don’t blame others. If you choose to participate, you must accept the outcome.
So what should we do?
Filter tournaments carefully
If you lack experience, choose x4 tournaments to trade volume and compete at the same time
Or if you trade x1 tournaments, combine them with x4 volume
Choose tournaments with many slots and good rewards
Accept the base fee difference
And again: trade extremely carefully
Spend more time calculating and managing your volume strategy
* Everything above is only a simple example to help you understand the principle. It may not be 100% accurate because rewards are not fixed — you might profit or lose. But once you understand the logic, you should calculate everything yourself.*
NOW TO THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION
Why hedge (lock) tournament rewards?
A real example with the current x4 tournament: $FIGHT
When the tournament appeared, 5,770 reward tokens were worth 60U.
But when rewards are distributed, they might only be worth 30U.
So the solution is:
Open a short position equal to the reward amount (5,770 tokens).
I call this “locking the tournament reward.”
This means:
If price crashes → I still keep the value I want
If price pumps → I still keep the value I want
I hear many people say:
“If it pumps hard, you’ll get liquidated”
Hard to understand.
If you join a tournament worth only 60U and you can afford the trading fees, how would hedging exactly 60U liquidate you?
If you short more than the reward value, that’s no longer hedging.
“Funding fees will eat all the profit”
I usually don’t answer this.
Because they’re not really asking. They simply don’t understand trading and just want to argue.
Another very common and important question:
“FIGHT is only 45U now, much lower than before. Should we hedge now?”
My answer:
“How ambitious are you?”
What are you expecting from an x4 tournament with nearly 7,000 slots and a 45U reward?
If you’re confident the token will pump at distribution (like NIGHT), then maybe don’t hedge.
But for many people, 45U is already big enough for a tournament with such low requirements.
Make your own decision,I can’t say which is the most profitable. This is only an information channel.
This is simply my personal perspective and sharing.
Try it yourself (or don’t)
Wish everyone a new way of looking at Alpha tournaments.
Note: This article is not for experts. I’m just a small individual too :)))