Daily Hand 20: The Dot-Com Bust, Jun 2001 to Jun 2003

On July 31, 2026 everyone who opened the game got the same secret two years: June 25, 2001 to June 30, 2003, the dot-com bust. The couch bought on day one, never sold, and turned $10,000 into $8,217 (-17.8%). 84% of the players who tried beat it.

THE COUCH'S $10,000, DAY BY DAY, REAL DAILY DATA

What the couch did

ENDED WITH$8,217 (-17.8%)

WORST DRAWDOWN-36% by Oct 9, 2002

WORST SINGLE DAY-4.9% Sep 17, 2001

BEST SINGLE DAY+5.7% Jul 24, 2002

CASH INSTEAD (T-BILLS)+4.0%

The era

The dot-com bust. The S&P 500 lost about half its value from the March 2000 top. September 11 landed in the middle of it, and the accounting scandals came after. A long, grinding way down.

What the players did

BEAT THE COUCH84.2%

WITH CERTIFIED SKILL22.8%

BY LUCK61.4%

COUCH WINS7.0%

DEAD HEAT1.8%

ENLIGHTENED (TOUCHED NOTHING)7.0%

MEDIAN RESULT vs THE COUCH+8.7%

MEDIAN TRADES3

MEDIAN TIME IN MARKET68%

The read

A falling market, and the humans finally showed up: 84% of players beat the couch. Before anyone frames it, only 22.8% passed the monkey audit. Most of the winners were simply out of the market while it fell, which is not the same as knowing it would.

Player figures count every official and replayed attempt at this exact hand filed on the day it was dealt, from the run export of October 31, 2026. A win counts as SKILL only if it beats 90% of 1,000 monkeys replaying the same window with the same trade count and the same time in the market. Across the whole ledger the couch wins 62% of 120,800 games.

Frequently asked

What was the Beat the Couch daily hand on July 31, 2026?

Day 20 dealt the two years from June 25, 2001 to June 30, 2003, the dot-com bust. A couch that bought on day one and never sold turned $10,000 into $8,217 (-17.8%).

How often did players beat the couch on day 20?

84.2% of the players who filed the hand beat the couch. 22.8% passed the 1,000-monkey skill audit; the rest of the winners were stamped LUCKY.

Can I still play the day 20 hand?

Yes. The past hand button deals the exact same window. It is filed as a replay: it does not touch your streak, the daily standings or the public ledger.

Day 20 · The Dot-Com Bust