PRACTICE GUIDE MAKO
Mako Number Sequences Practice Test
This guide offers number sequences preparation for readers interested in Mako. The general practice ranges below are not a verified assessment specification for that employer.
Those are ranges across firms running this format rather than Mako's own figures, so treat them as the shape to train against and check the instruction screen on the day for the marking rule.
Outcry is not affiliated with Mako and has no access to their assessment content. This guide describes an assessment format that candidates report publicly; the questions here are generated by Outcry and are not Mako’s own.
What it screens
A derivatives market maker founded in London, trading options and futures across global exchanges.
- ✓First and second differences, ratios, and alternating patterns
- ✓Interleaved sequences (two rules taking turns)
- ✓Squares, cubes, primes and factorials recognised on sight
- ✓Committing to an answer with seconds left
Where it sits at Mako
A derivatives market maker founded in London, trading options and futures across global exchanges. The topics here are Outcry preparation suggestions, not a verified firm syllabus or recruiting stage.
Outcry also has 2 other topic guides for readers interested in Mako. Their presence does not mean applicants must sit that many tests or that they belong to one recruiting round.
The format
These are general practice ranges, not a verified current assessment specification for Mako. Check the employer’s invitation for the actual format.
| Questions | 20 to 30 |
|---|---|
| Time | 10 to 25 minutes |
| Per question | about 30 to 60 seconds |
| Negative marking | Varies by firm and year |
| Answer style | Typed next term |
| Where it sits | Preparation topics · employer round unconfirmed |
What it tests, with a worked example
Every example below is generated by Outcry, drawn from the same question generators the timed drills run. None of them is Mako’s.
Arithmetic and geometric runs
A constant difference or a constant ratio, sometimes with the first term chosen to hide it.
Example 1
-11, -4, 4, 13, 23, ?
Answer 34
First differences increase by 1 each time, forcing the sequence to cross zero.
Example 2
-4, 99, -1, 79, 2, ?
Answer 59
Interleaved sequences: odd positions rise slowly from near zero, evens drop rapidly.
Example 3
-1, 6, -5, -1, 6, ?
Answer -5
Each term is -1× previous minus the one before it.
Interleaved sequences
Two rules taking alternate turns, which reads as noise until you split the list.
Example 1
19, 27, 37, 49, 63, ? What comes next?
Answer 79
The gaps are 8, 10, 12, 14 and grow by 2. Next gap 16, so 63 + 16 = 79.
Example 2
11, 30, 68, 144, 296, ? What comes next?
Answer 600
Double and add 8: 296 × 2 + 8 = 600.
Example 3
34, 37, 40, 43, 46, ? What comes next?
Answer 49
Each term adds 3, so 46 + 3 = 49.
Operation chains
Each term built from the last by a repeating operation cycle rather than one rule.
Example 1
10, 15, 23, 34, 48, ? What comes next?
Answer 65
The gaps are 5, 8, 11, 14, growing by 3. Next gap 17: 48 + 17 = 65.
Example 2
11, 13, 17, 19, 23, ? What comes next?
Answer 29
Consecutive primes from 11. After 23 comes 29.
Example 3
1, 8, 27, 64, 125, ? What comes next?
Answer 216
Cubes from 1³. Next is 6³ = 216.
Ratio runs that are not geometric
Terms whose ratios themselves move, which reads as geometric until the third term breaks it.
Example 1
43, 49, 55, 61, 67, ? What comes next?
Answer 73
Each term adds 6, so 67 + 6 = 73.
Example 2
9, 25, 57, 121, 249, ? What comes next?
Answer 505
Double and add 7: 249 × 2 + 7 = 505.
Example 3
19, 27, 37, 49, 63, ? What comes next?
Answer 79
The gaps are 8, 10, 12, 14 and grow by 2. Next gap 16, so 63 + 16 = 79.
Position-dependent rules
The rule uses the index rather than the previous term, so differences never settle.
Example
All traders are risk-takers. No risk-takers are cautious people. What follows?
- No traders are cautious people
- Some traders are cautious people
- No cautious people are risk-takers only if some traders are
- All risk-takers are traders
Answer No traders are cautious people
Every trader sits inside risk-takers, and that set is disjoint from cautious people, so none can overlap.
Sequences with a planted decoy
An opening that fits two rules, where the fourth term is what decides between them.
Example 1
10, 18, 34, 66, 130, 258, ?
Answer 514
Take 2 off every term and you get 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 - powers of 2. The next power is 512, so the answer is 514.
Example 2
3, -6, 12, -24, 48, -96, ?
Answer 192
Each term is -2 times the one before it. -96 × -2 = 192.
Example 3
3, 7, 15, 31, 63, 127, ?
Answer 255
Each term is 2 times the last, plus 1. 2 × 127 + 1 = 255.
What a good score looks like
No current employer cutoff is verified for these general practice ranges. Use the worked examples to identify what to study and check your role-specific invitation for the actual assessment rules.
How to train for it
- 01Learn to take first and second differences automatically, before trying anything cleverer. It resolves most items on its own.
- 02Practise splitting a list into odd and even positions the moment the differences look random. That one move solves every interleaved item.
- 03Give yourself a fixed budget per item and abandon at it. One sequence you refuse to let go of costs more than the three you never reach.
TRAIN IT HERE
The drills that match each section
Sequence Sprint
Timed next-term sequences, exactly the assessment format.
Arithmetic Drill
The raw calculation speed that sequence tests assume you already have.
SIT THE FULL BATTERY
All the sections back to back on one clock, marked the way the real screen marks them, with a by-skill breakdown at the end. Included with any pass.
Also reported at Mako
Common questions
- Is the Mako number sequences test multiple choice?
- This guide uses typed next term for practice. The employer’s current answer format was not verified here.
- How long is the Mako number sequences test?
- This guide uses general practice ranges of 20 to 30 questions in 10 to 25 minutes. They are not a verified current employer format.
- Is there negative marking on the Mako number sequences test?
- It varies by firm and by year. Where a paper does mark negatively, skipping beats guessing; where it does not, answer everything. Check the instruction screen before you start - it is always stated there.
- How do I practise for it free?
- The warm-up drills are free with no account, and every pass opens the rest of the drills linked on this page. Questions are generated fresh each run, so there is nothing to memorise between attempts.