Friday 23 August 2013

Automation

In the video below, I am scalp trading a high liquidity Group 1 York race from yesterday.  I find this type of trading very mentally exhausting.  You have to make many decisions really quickly and just concentrate intensively throughout the pre-race period.

What if I could automate this!

Well that would be amazing to have some automated bot do all that mind draining work for me.  So, it's early days but I'm going to add looking at the Betfair API to my long todo list.

Tuesday 13 August 2013

My new workspace

I have completely declutted my desk, bought a second 24 inch monitor and moved the keyboard and mouse onto the top of the desk.  They were on a sliding tray beneath the desk which was uncomfortable to use for long periods.  I think I was getting repetitive strain injury.  I've also subscribed to Racing UK so live pictures can only help.

Well, I've got the tools now so need to produce the goods!

Tuesday 6 August 2013

The Art of Scratching

For those readings who don't know, scratching is the same as when you buy and sell at the same price therefore making no profit but more importantly not making a loss too.

From this race of last week's Goodwood, you can see I am constantly placing orders, assessing if it's a good deal or not and then sell or buy at the same price if I consider it's not good deal.  I have literally milliseconds to make these decisions and this skill is essential if I am to master scalping.  I think I'm getting better at this and can only improve with practise.


Friday 2 August 2013

July review

I'm £20 down in July and that's fine.  I think my trading skill level has increased in this month more than any other time.  I can scalp, scratch without hesitation and read the market better recognising potential price swings.

My downfall is still going in-play and not cutting losses quick enough.
I guess it's good that I know what my problems are but unless I reduce these weaknesses, I cannot use significantly increased stakes.  So, for now I will concentrate on this side of trading, minimising losses.

Here's a good video, 15:25 Nottingham, which demonstrates I am reading the market better and reacting in a sensible manner to avoid any danger. Initially, the prices were bouncing around and I couldn't work out which horse to trade then with about 02:30 remaining, it was obvious at the time.  Although, looking back, I missed an outsider, Rising Breeze, steaming in which would have been an even better move to get on.


Wednesday 31 July 2013

Disappointing

I'm a bit disappointed with my trading yesterday.  Very inconsistent and 2 losses wiped out the day's small profit.

I think one of the problems yesterday was I tried to trade every race and not really using the appropriate strategy for the race.  Today, I will be more selective and only trade the races I think I will have a good chance of success.

Have a look at this video of the 15:05 Goodwood where a decent £1.5M was matched but I made an embarrassing 40 pence!


Monday 29 July 2013

Glorious Goodwood tomorrow

I don't actually have many readers here so you won't have missed my postings.
Anyway, I had a week off trading but back to it starting tomorrow and of course it's the first day of Glorious Goodwood.
Well I'm not sure how to approach these 5 days of supposedly one of the best week of racing.  There's going to be huge liquidity and opportunities to make bigger profits and losses!
But I am running out of time and really do need to answer my question.  The thing is..if I can't make money this week then I doubt I can make it as a Sports Trader.

Just a quick update...

Today's P&L: £2.50

I wasn't going to trade today because it's a crappy Monday and the day before the big Glorious Goodwood festival.  But I got bored and couldn't resist having a play using £5 stakes.
I guess these low stakes isn't going to make a difference when I trade.  Although, with only two afternoon meetings, the liquidity was very good.

I think my break has done me good because I read the markets really well.  Using £5 stakes, I made a very easy £2.50 today trading 6 races.  If I had used £50 stakes then that would be £25 profit and if I had used £500 stakes then £250 profit which would be nice.  I wish it was that easy but I know that isn't going to happen.  With increased stakes, there's the mental side of trading to master and also whether the market will take the increased stakes in the moment.

Anyway, for now I'm happy how I made my measly £2.50!


Thursday 18 July 2013

Scalping

Today's P&L:  £1.15

Starting from today, I am going to concentrate on scalping which I think is less risky.

Wednesday 17 July 2013

I should be better than this!

Today's P&L:  £3.24

What a shite day of trading! 4 hours and 24 races later, I've got £3.24 to show for it!
Actually, I should be at least £30 down as I lost my discipline again and went in-running.  Luckily, the heavily backed favourite hit a low price where I greened up for £5 before it got convincingly beaten.

Here's a video of me trading the Uttoxeter 17:20 and really an example of how not to do it.


I'm too embarrassed to post the full P&L as it's a page of inconsistencies.  Small gains and several larger losses.

I don't want to give up just yet but I should get my CV updated.


Tuesday 16 July 2013

Out of Sync

Today's P&L:  -£4.16 

Today was quite frustrating where I was never in sync with the market.  I tried looking for swings thinking the price would go one way and of course it flew the other way resulting in a loss.  As I was using multiple £10 stakes, the liabilities were relatively large, up to £80, so I'm glad I easily took the losses and never gambled by going in-running.
Anyway, I have recorded my trading so I need to analyse where I went wrong.

Hey just an update having watched the recording for the 14:45 Bath race where I made a loss.  Whilst trading, I listen to Timeform radio and basically, there were two favourites, Waseem Faris and Powerful Wind.  Well the radio presenters were raving about the 2nd favourite, Powerful Wind, so I layed Waseem Faris for a total of £40.  But as the presenters continued to say how strong Powerful Wind looked, the price drifted and Waseem Faris price shortened.  This is unusual and I just checked the results and neither of the two favourites were placed. So, don't always believe what you hear!


Monday 15 July 2013

Day 1

Today's P&L:  £3.08
 
Yay, a small profit!
I wasn't actually going to trade today but I do need the practise if I'm going to reach my target.  Just using minimum stakes to earn pennies.  I did however let one race go in-running to avoid a loss which I'm so annoyed with.  This can't happen when I increase stakes.
Tomorrow I will ramp it up!

Sunday 14 July 2013

First Post


I am a Potential Sports Trader.  As I am currently between jobs, the time I have to determine if this is possible is limited by personal financial constraints.  I have been playing occasionally with Sports Trading for around a year and half with inconsistent results but down overall.  My aim is to trade everyday, gain that consistency and gradually use increased stakes.


The blog description is:
Can I make an income from Sports Trading?

This is the question to myself which I am trying to answer.  So, how much is an income?
Well I need to set a target and I think initially £50 a-day would be an income.

So, why do a blog?
  •  I haven't done one before, it gives me something to do and it might be fun.
  •  It might convince family and friends that I am not wasting time and just gambling.
  •  It might help with my discipline by discouraging me from gambling when I get it wrong.
  •  It will track my progress or lack of it!
So, for now, I am going to concentrate on trading horse racing before the start of the race.  But I might also trade on football and tennis.

I will try and post daily my Betfair Profit and Loss, be it good or bad!  And finally, please post comments about anything I have written and I promise to reply.