Hi Everyone
I am seeking some guidance or advice on going forward and getting to the next level. I have been trading pre-race horse racing Australian racing for about 2 years. Occasionally have traded UK racing. I have read articles/purchased ebooks and Videos on horse race and sports trading. I only trade the horse racing.
I am struggling with some of my demons in that i do some silly things at times full well knowing that the probability of success is riskier than normal....why do I do this?
Some may be able to identify with these.
Some of the areas that have cost me are as follows:
-Placing larger bets at Support or resistance points but having these areas collapse at times
-Entering a trade too early and with larger sums than normal then having it go in the opposite direction heavily
-Very sudden moves in the opposite direction up to 20 ticks etc
-clicking the mouse many times for example $100 bets end up being $700 then having to bail out early because risk is too great when starts to move against me (Over leveraged)
-Occasionally going in play. Some times has help other times it hasn't.
These are the areas I have been working on and whilst despite all this I have not lost my bank it has grown but not by that much given the time i have traded.
I feel that i am not far off trading well but for some reason I do these silly things.
if you have experienced any of the above yourself and have conquered it would really appreciate some feedback how you accomplished it.
I suspect its a Mindset and Discipline issue
I feel i need some mentoring from someone that trades successfully as i am finding it hard to break these habits. Wholes days successes at times lost in one race due to some stupidity
I would pay for online training and even considered flying over to the UK from Australia to do the course with PW if i felt it would help me.
Look forward to any replies
Thanking you
Ubetido
Apprentice Trader
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ubetido wrote: I feel that i am not far off trading well but for some reason I do these silly things.
I'd be surprised if you are close to trading well to be honest, especially as you seem to know all the rookie mistakes you make but still continue to do them.
All those issues are probably part of your trading strategy but only become "silly things" when they go against you but are good moves when they go in your favour. You're probably having trouble breaking them because alot of the time they win and basically they are your trading approach. Until you rid yourself of those issues you'll never actually know if you have any strategies that even work or are just being topped up by the times these 'chasing' techniques go in your favour.
I wouldn't book that flight to the UK until you've sorted these issues out. Good news is you know where you're going wrong so cut them out
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- Posts: 3140
- Joined: Sun Jan 31, 2010 8:06 pm
Don't be too disheartened, you know what your faults are and had two years experience watching markets. The thing with trading is it's very much a personal battle with your own mentality towards losses , risks etc. If we break things down to basics, trading can be as simple as a toss of a coin to which way it will move if we randomly enter a market. So even a relatively small edge can bring us profits in the log run. Newbies tend to do so many things at once in order to be involved that it's very easy to assume certain things are losing money and others winning when the truth may be the opposite.
After two years you've probably built up some hard habits to break but it's not impossible. I've still got some bad trading habits that crop up every now and then, luckily not too often to throw me off my stride though. I'd get right back to basics if I were you and force yourself to only trade when you have think you have an edge. Write and even record things down as you go along so you can actually see if you really do have some sort of approach you can apply consistently. Forums and trading courses really aren't going to address those mindset and discipline issues they're down to you at the end of the day.
After two years you've probably built up some hard habits to break but it's not impossible. I've still got some bad trading habits that crop up every now and then, luckily not too often to throw me off my stride though. I'd get right back to basics if I were you and force yourself to only trade when you have think you have an edge. Write and even record things down as you go along so you can actually see if you really do have some sort of approach you can apply consistently. Forums and trading courses really aren't going to address those mindset and discipline issues they're down to you at the end of the day.
One consolation I can offer you, is that you are not alone
The reasons given for your failures, are the same reasons why would be traders ultimately fail in this game
Recognising your bad habits is good, that's a start. However, eradicating them is tough. I know this from first hand experience when I started with Betfair many years back. People who gravitate to trading from previously being a punter often brings some demons with you. It's almost as if you're using a ouija board and not a keyboard, as dark forces make you do terrible things
My only advice is this - you will either succeed or fail as a sports trader. List all your bad habits on a sheet and stick them onto the wall in front of your trading desk. Look at them always, remember them, and when you are being reminded of a major fook up that you are about to commit - STOP. If you still go ahead, then find something else to do with your life, as this isn't for you
The reasons given for your failures, are the same reasons why would be traders ultimately fail in this game
Recognising your bad habits is good, that's a start. However, eradicating them is tough. I know this from first hand experience when I started with Betfair many years back. People who gravitate to trading from previously being a punter often brings some demons with you. It's almost as if you're using a ouija board and not a keyboard, as dark forces make you do terrible things
My only advice is this - you will either succeed or fail as a sports trader. List all your bad habits on a sheet and stick them onto the wall in front of your trading desk. Look at them always, remember them, and when you are being reminded of a major fook up that you are about to commit - STOP. If you still go ahead, then find something else to do with your life, as this isn't for you
Hi
Thank you both for taking the time to add your replies. It was helpful just hearing it from someone else. Trading can be a lonely place and at times you wonder if its just you or is it part of the growing process.
I know what i have to do and the last few days trading have been very disciplined and not done any of the impulse moves.
In Australia the horse markets are pretty volatile in comparison to UK so I find it a bit of challenge to set up and test strategies because they all seem to behave differently. So I tend to see whats going on and take it market by market.
Thank you again
Regards
Ubetido
Thank you both for taking the time to add your replies. It was helpful just hearing it from someone else. Trading can be a lonely place and at times you wonder if its just you or is it part of the growing process.
I know what i have to do and the last few days trading have been very disciplined and not done any of the impulse moves.
In Australia the horse markets are pretty volatile in comparison to UK so I find it a bit of challenge to set up and test strategies because they all seem to behave differently. So I tend to see whats going on and take it market by market.
Thank you again
Regards
Ubetido