Practice Trading: replay a real gold day
Trade a hidden real day of hourly gold candles with entries, stops, targets and risk-based size. 590 days to practise on, a daily challenge for everyone, and your result in R at the end.
My practice history (this browser)
No practice days yet.
A game for learning, not a signal. Nothing here predicts prices or tells you to buy or sell. Past prices do not predict future prices.
How the practice simulator works
Pick a day, write your plan, then trade it one hourly candle at a time on real gold prices, with a stop, a target and a position size from your risk. The chart opens with the previous day's 24 hourly candles for context; the day you trade is hidden until the end. Press Next candle (or Auto-play) to reveal one hour at a time. Whenever you are flat you can buy or sell at the last close with the stop and target distances you choose.
- Plan first. Write one or two lines on what you will and will not do. At the end the simulator puts your plan next to what you actually did.
- Size from risk. Set a virtual balance and a risk percent. The simulator turns your stop distance into ounces and lots so a full stop loss costs exactly that risk, the method from our position size calculator.
- Manage the trade. Move the stop to breakeven or close at market at any candle. Stops and targets fill from each candle's real high and low.
- Review. At the end you see the date, your result in R and in dollars, every trade on the chart, and lesson tags such as stop inside the typical hourly range or target bigger than the day's whole range.
What the numbers say about stops
Over the last 120 trading days in this data, the median one-hour range of gold was about $15.6 and the median full-day range about $89. A stop tighter than one normal hourly range is often hit by ordinary noise, which is why the simulator flags it. Compare your stop with the live numbers on the gold volatility (ATR) page and the ATR stop-loss calculator, and see which hours move most on when gold moves the most.
Daily challenge and history
The daily challenge gives everyone the same hidden day, changing at 00:00 UTC like Goldle. Random and Pick a date let you practise as much as you like. Your days and trades are saved only in this browser; export them as CSV to keep a trading journal.
Where the data comes from
One-hour COMEX gold futures (GC=F) bars via Yahoo Finance, times in UTC and shown in your own time zone, updated with the site's hourly data refresh. Futures prices differ slightly from spot XAUUSD (the futures basis). Practice has no spread, commission, swap or slippage, and no real money or emotions, so real results are usually worse. For the full picture, read XAUUSD risk management.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a real gold chart?
Yes. Every candle is a real one-hour COMEX gold futures (GC=F) bar from Yahoo Finance. There are 590 weekdays to practise on, from June 2024 to October 2026. The date stays hidden until the day ends so you cannot remember what happened.
How are stops and targets filled?
Against each candle’s real high and low. If a single candle touches both your stop and your target, the simulator assumes the stop was hit first, because inside one hourly bar we cannot know the order. Real trading also has spreads and slippage, which this practice tool leaves out.
How is my position size worked out?
Risk in dollars = virtual balance × risk percent. Ounces = risk in dollars ÷ stop distance, because each $1 move in gold changes the value of one ounce by $1. Lots = ounces ÷ 100 (a standard 100-ounce lot), rounded down to 0.01. Your broker’s contract size may differ; check it with the position size calculator.
What is the daily challenge?
The same hidden day for every visitor, chosen from the data and changing at 00:00 UTC. Play it once, then compare your result in R with friends using Copy my result. There is no leaderboard and no account.
What does R mean?
R is the amount you risked on a trade. A trade that loses its full stop is −1R; a trade that makes twice the stop distance is +2R. Measuring in R lets you compare results across different account sizes and stop widths.
Can I export my practice trades?
Yes. Export my trades downloads a CSV of every practice trade saved in this browser (date, side, entry, stop, target, exit, size, result in R and dollars), ready for a spreadsheet or trade journal.
More in the Gold Lab
Educational game only. Not financial advice and not a signal. Prices are COMEX gold futures (GC=F), which differ slightly from spot XAUUSD. See our risk disclaimer.