10 replies to this topic

[rhysmr2]

Hi all,

I'm just wondering how many people on here trade for a living or just for fun. I would like to trade for a living but I seem to be stuck in a dead end job so I don't get much time to practice. I just wanted to see if people had actually broke the mould and took the risk.

Regards
Rhys

[rhysmr2]

Hhmm, interesting results. I know not to do anymore poll's then.

[uggla_asterix]

I trade and have a dream about to do it for a living

[laytheodds]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the Poll, not sure why no one is voting. Still not a huge amount of posts on the forum but over 80 members now! Not sure why people are not posting?

Please feel free guys to make some posts, questions, feedback, advice, strategies etc. It doesn't matter if your a newbie or a Pro, the people on this forum are nice and friendly unlike some of the mean comments people write on the Betfair forum.

Thanks
Admin

[clotty]

While I wouldn't say I currently trade for a living, I do trade to add to my income and, if I had to, could probably survive on trading alone... although I am, by no means, Peter Webb just yet. I haven't done much trading recently though, I guess I hit a rut with it and it became monotonous, which isn't what I want my life to be about... so I've stopped for a while.

Rhysmr2, often people want to trade or bet for a living, so you are not alone in that respect. Whenever asked on how people should go about becoming 'players' I always discuss my 10,000 hours theory (maybe I'll go into this at a later date sometime). Basically, to cut things down drastically, no one was born brilliant at anything (well there are a few examples that come to my mind, but they are exceptions to the rule), while natural talent has a part to play in most things, devotion to practice is, in my opinion, the single most important factor to improvement. Devote an hour a day to trading and in a few months, you'll be surprised at how good you are. Continue this passionately and read whatever resources you can find on the subject and after a year you'll be very good (possibly ready go pro even). You mentioned your lack of time. Don't take this the wrong way, but if you want a blunt, honest response, it's not a time issue, it's a priorities issue. For anyone who really truly wants to become a professional trader, it will obsess them and they will MAKE time for it. If this is not the case, then I suspect the real longing is for money or possibly a fondness of the lifestyle it offers.

That's all from me for now...

Joshua.

[jrp]

Hi and evening all,

Recently returned from a fantastic and relaxing two week holiday with the family - where on earth is that heat wave I read about?

I trade for a living and thoroughly enjoy it. I use financial futures trading as well as exchange trading to scratch that penny and its taken me some nine plus years to get to today! If only I'd known what I know now from the outset....

Before the days of Betfair I used to "lay" the favourites via index spread trading on the likes of IG Index and some other companies offering this facility. With a dial up modem it was hard work but really satisfying when it came right, other than that the only other options for playing the geegees at that time was through the boring old conventional bookies.

Once Betfiar became established I quickly switched over to this as it offered a transparent market with good liquidity and the ability to lay as well as back, many people moan about Betfair but they should think about what would be out there if the likes of Betfair and Betdaq etc didnt exist.

A key lesson I learnt early on was to have an adequate capital resource behind you before attemting to make a living out of trading - you gotta pay those bills and feed the wife and kids even when you hit a bad losing streak!

Its a fairly lonely life trading, but well worth the effort if you are prepared to work at it constantly and accept the fact that the rough, always without fail, comes with the smooth.

Trade well!

[terry-shep]

Hi, JRP

I've read your various postings with great interest - and learned a lot from them. Your experiences with BetAngel and Market Trader Pro were very interesting and bring me to wondering if you have tried Oddstrader? This is a software which features one-click betting and has some Xcel triggering facilities. It is also FREE, so is an attractive alternative, provided it will do what you want. I'd like to hear what you think of it. (w3.oddstrader.com). There are some templates already set up but there is also the possibility to use blank spreadsheets, or import your own.

A question for you which will expose me as the tyro that I am: one triggering scenario I have seen on some programs - including Oddstrader - is the facility to 'lay the field at the off' and suggesting odds of 1.3 and a stake (both user configurable). What, exactly would be the result of this? Surely only the winner of the race would pass the 1.3 mark, thus triggering the bet. If it then goes on to win, you lose, so what is the point? Also, Betfair Assistant has a facility to lay the field at 1.01. I am baffled by this, obviously I am not grasping something horribly obvious to others, please enlighten me!

Incidentally, I am refusing to be jealous of you going off on holiday just because I am stuck here until September. I'd like to boast that I'd made money while you were lolling in the sun but unfortunately, July was a rotten month for me, the horses obviously were missing you.

As you say, trade well.

TS

[jrp]

Hi terry-shep,

Glad to hear you found the posts interesting; my spelling is often dreadful (dyslexia rules ko!) but luckily enough for me my grasp on numbers is fast, gained from trading real time on the futures market.

Thanks for the heads up on Oddstrader, I've been doodling around with this on and off for a while now and think the gui is a real plus to all traders. I'm still experimenting with their spreadsheet app and am trying to find out what limitations they have with advanced formulae functions use such as the likes within MS Excel plus complex user defined ones, once I can find out more about this I'll certainly let you know my comments, but for now absolutely 100% agree with you that this is certainly a top rated piece of software.

I wonder how long it will be "free" once they hook up the Betdaq side of their engine? Also, do you know whether or not it utilises the Betfair API? I have a feeling that it does because of its speed in fills.

Not too sure about your question re laying the field at the off and it maybe only pertinent to greening up or spreading a known profit value throughout the field - you mentioned the excellent gruss app of BA and this is what its supposed to do amongst other things like in "trading" mode. Otherwise it depends on the size of field and what you can lay them at plus also (and MOST importantly!) whether you can get all the required fills at your stipulated prices.

I'll look at this point within Oddstrader and see what its supposed to be for. Sorry about the holiday, but it really was great to be away with the family and allowed me to think up some new strategies - only problem was these were done in the bar late at night so I've forgotten most of them!

Trade well.

[Frinck]

Hi all,

Just to add my tuppence worth, laying the field just after the off can occassionally pick up a lot of mug money. It's really surprising (but true) how people can get ridiculously low odds matched before even a furlong has been run. Of course the layer can then trade back for profit or just let the lay ride with very little risk.

However, most people's use of this system is to get more than one horse matched under 2.0 (evens). As only one horse can win (lets avoid dead-heats for arguments sake ) two or more matches will guarantee a profit.

If you ever watch a few races in-running, you will notice how horses can come in to 1.1 sometimes without winning. This isn't as uncommon, as you'd think. I often think of it like a snowball effect - punters go with the flow of the betting far too quickly, sometimes well before a finish has fully developed. As Benney50 says, particular courses can also offer tricky TV angles, leading to inaccurate assessments during the race.

Nothing beats a little watch of the markets in these situations. Spend an hour or two when you can and you'll see what I mean.

All the best ,
Frinck.

[jimmy]

Hi all,

Just to add my tuppence worth, laying the field just after the off can occassionally pick up a lot of mug money. It's really surprising (but true) how people can get ridiculously low odds matched before even a furlong has been run. Of course the layer can then trade back for profit or just let the lay ride with very little risk.

However, most people's use of this system is to get more than one horse matched under 2.0 (evens). As only one horse can win (lets avoid dead-heats for arguments sake ) two or more matches will guarantee a profit.

If you ever watch a few races in-running, you will notice how horses can come in to 1.1 sometimes without winning. This isn't as uncommon, as you'd think. I often think of it like a snowball effect - punters go with the flow of the betting far too quickly, sometimes well before a finish has fully developed. As Benney50 says, particular courses can also offer tricky TV angles, leading to inaccurate assessments during the race.

Nothing beats a little watch of the markets in these situations. Spend an hour or two when you can and you'll see what I mean.

All the best ,
Frinck.

I like this idea. it seems so simple to do and i have seen how prices fluctuate between horses during a close finish
What price do you lay the field at to regularly get 2 matched?
Do you wait till the race develops before putting up the lays or from the off?
I would imagine Lingfield all weather track would be a good place to do this although flat racing in general especially the sprints would be good too
Also do you play untill you make a fixed daily amount or just keep going?