Trading What I see !?

[alexmr2]

WOW, 26 months and 10k, I admire your honesty, did you not even think of giving up, how long will it take to get that 10k back? Good luck to you, I think your right about small banks, makes you think every time you top up, or it should IMHO but I dont think I will bet getting up near those levels. Many thanks for your reply.

Thinking how long it will take to get it back is the wrong way to look at it, it would be like a doctor or lawyer getting half way through a degree and then worrying how long it will take to repay their tuition fees/student loan, and if they will even get a job at the end of it. If they are serious about it then they shouldn't be too worried about it because most things can be achieved with persistence and constantly adapting. The main thing for me is to focus on not letting the loss get bigger and fortunately for the last 2 months I have been at that breakeven/slightly profitable stage

I've burnt over 8k in the past 4 years of trading for me it was thinking i know what I'm doing then only to find out I didn't know anything then I would loose and bang I go full tilt I also had the illusion that if I used bigger banks I can Lay at higher odds but that ended badly also I dont personally do not feel bad for loosing 8k I see it as part of the process if i make it to the top then that 8k will come back to me if I dont make it back then at least I gave it a good go
I'm sure you pro traders love people like me because if newbies all used practice mode you wouldn't make as much money
So in a nutshell if I dont loose money this wouldn't work like it does
Feels like a polzi situation

This was exactly the same case with me and using a bigger bank with the illusion that it would allow me to be more patient since I'd make more money. I would have some short term profitability and think I cracked it, try to scale it up until one split second sloppy decision would leave me with a bigger than normal loss and emotions took over. I don't think the judgement to deal with that sort of situaton can be replicated without thousands of hours experience. I did underestimate how much I would lose whilst learning but I also didn't think this was some sort of magic opportunity where I could be making a living from the bat otherwise everyone would be doing it and no one would lose (except drunk punters). Losing a lot of money isn't ideal but it's still better than punting or losing £50k getting a degree when there's no job at the end of it. It's a bit like a business expense and most businesses do fail unless you keep trying again and again

[speedyhamster]

Exactly, and if i want to create that sort of software I am perfectly capable with 30+ years as a developer

Then what are you doing here.

+1 on this, if you have 30 years of programming experience then you should be taking advantage of it.

I would disagree with Shaun on the langauage, it has to be python

what has programming got to do with being a profitable trader?
if you are on about collecting data that is a different matter

[MAGTRADEUK]

WOW, 26 months and 10k, I admire your honesty, did you not even think of giving up, how long will it take to get that 10k back? Good luck to you, I think your right about small banks, makes you think every time you top up, or it should IMHO but I dont think I will bet getting up near those levels. Many thanks for your reply.

Thinking how long it will take to get it back is the wrong way to look at it, it would be like a doctor or lawyer getting half way through a degree and then worrying how long it will take to repay their tuition fees/student loan, and if they will even get a job at the end of it. If they are serious about it then they shouldn't be too worried about it because most things can be achieved with persistence and constantly adapting. The main thing for me is to focus on not letting the loss get bigger and fortunately for the last 2 months I have been at that breakeven/slightly profitable stage

I've burnt over 8k in the past 4 years of trading for me it was thinking i know what I'm doing then only to find out I didn't know anything then I would loose and bang I go full tilt I also had the illusion that if I used bigger banks I can Lay at higher odds but that ended badly also I dont personally do not feel bad for loosing 8k I see it as part of the process if i make it to the top then that 8k will come back to me if I dont make it back then at least I gave it a good go
I'm sure you pro traders love people like me because if newbies all used practice mode you wouldn't make as much money
So in a nutshell if I dont loose money this wouldn't work like it does
Feels like a polzi situation

This was exactly the same case with me and using a bigger bank with the illusion that it would allow me to be more patient since I'd make more money. I would have some short term profitability and think I cracked it, try to scale it up until one split second sloppy decision would leave me with a bigger than normal loss and emotions took over. I don't think the judgement to deal with that sort of situaton can be replicated without thousands of hours experience. I did underestimate how much I would lose whilst learning but I also didn't think this was some sort of magic opportunity where I could be making a living from the bat otherwise everyone would be doing it and no one would lose (except drunk punters). Losing a lot of money isn't ideal but it's still better than punting or losing £50k getting a degree when there's no job at the end of it. It's a bit like a business expense and most businesses do fail unless you keep trying again and again

I see your point, but if you dont consider how long it will take you to get it back, does that make it worth it in regards to time, which to be frank is a commodity we all have a finite amount of, therefore we need to consider how we spend it?

I have tried something today NOT pre race trading, I know its a Saturday, but the results have been good, so far, and I got a bit of enjoyment back into racing, it could be that PRE Race is just not for me........... GLA

[alexmr2]

I see your point, but if you dont consider how long it will take you to get it back, does that make it worth it in regards to time, which to be frank is a commodity we all have a finite amount of, therefore we need to consider how we spend it?

I think in the long term it is worth spending/investing 3 years losing money learning a skill which will potentially allow me to make money for the next 40 years doing something I enjoy. Instead of being stuck in an office I don't like 40 hours a week (+5 hours a week commuting) for the next 40 years, I should have more free time in the long term at least for the same £ per hour.

There are traders who make half of my lifetime losses back in a matter or weeks of months, not saying I'll ever be near that good but the initial losses wouldn't be relevant to a successful lifetime P&L

[MAGTRADEUK]

Good luck to you, if you have that much time, money and Betfair keep the exchange going, of course if you are succesful instead of being a 40 pct tax payer you will be a PC betfair charge payer!!

[alexmr2]

Good luck to you, if you have that much time, money and Betfair keep the exchange going, of course if you are succesful instead of being a 40 pct tax payer you will be a PC betfair charge payer!!

Not many alternatives for me with the state the economy is in now and for the near future anyway so might as well keep going

[goat68]

I re-worked my bot a bit last night, trying some different variables..
Was going well by mid afternoon was +£2 up, but then it lost 7 in a row... frustrating but expected I guess!

PnL1.jpg

[LinusP]

Then what are you doing here.

+1 on this, if you have 30 years of programming experience then you should be taking advantage of it.

I would disagree with Shaun on the langauage, it has to be python

what has programming got to do with being a profitable trader?
if you are on about collecting data that is a different matter

All the big players are automated.

[The Silk Run]

+1 on this, if you have 30 years of programming experience then you should be taking advantage of it.

I would disagree with Shaun on the langauage, it has to be python

what has programming got to do with being a profitable trader?
if you are on about collecting data that is a different matter

All the big players are automated.

I don't have the means to challenge that. But I believe their are some big gambling syndicates within that return !!! The exchanges are dynamic workspaces now occupied predominantly by locusts, and bots.

[The Silk Run]

I re-worked my bot a bit last night, trying some different variables..
Was going well by mid afternoon was +£2 up, but then it lost 7 in a row... frustrating but expected I guess!
PnL1.jpg

Have you considered scalping G.

[Emmson]

+1 on this, if you have 30 years of programming experience then you should be taking advantage of it.

I would disagree with Shaun on the langauage, it has to be python

what has programming got to do with being a profitable trader?
if you are on about collecting data that is a different matter

All the big players are automated.

This poster also said manual trading is a mugs game not long ago which is nonsense on stilts.

[speedyhamster]

+1 on this, if you have 30 years of programming experience then you should be taking advantage of it.

I would disagree with Shaun on the langauage, it has to be python

what has programming got to do with being a profitable trader?
if you are on about collecting data that is a different matter

All the big players are automated.

but you will need the skill to be able to trade

[goat68]

I re-worked my bot a bit last night, trying some different variables..
Was going well by mid afternoon was +£2 up, but then it lost 7 in a row... frustrating but expected I guess!
PnL1.jpg

Have you considered scalping G.

So my first bot incarnation was a scalper of sorts and that didn't go so well, but again I've learned a lot more about bots since then.
My current bot although not a pure scalper, aims at getting a small win, roughly 5% price movement (eg.3.5->3.7), with no stop loss. Hence the odd largish loss with no stop, but i'm hoping for better strike rate. My first scalper had a stop, and that was nonsense...
i'm going to pursue the current bot, tweak it here and there and keep it running to gain a decent sample size...

[speedyhamster]

i am sure somewhere i watched one of Peters videos where he states he mainly manually trades pre race and automates only little experiments or data collection and automates inplay mainly.

pre race trading is opinions of masses of random People;s perception of which horse has the best chance of winning that can change over time,
which you cannot know in advance, so trade what you see.

[goat68]

i am sure somewhere i watched one of Peters videos where he states he mainly manually trades pre race and automates only little experiments or data collection and automates inplay mainly.

pre race trading is opinions of masses of random People;s perception of which horse has the best chance of winning that can change over time,
which you cannot know in advance, so trade what you see.

Now that is interesting thanks, i've not heard him say that, but it does sort of make sense.