Do 'Old fa*ts stand a chance?'

[bennyboy351]

Hello all! (The modern idiom is "Hi" but I'm an 'old(er?)-f8rt' so please forgive me!

I've been using BetAngel to trade for a few years now (was excited by its prospects originally and am now WELL in arrears financially due to that excitement! - LOL) My major issue, is that these days there is so much talk about automation! Bots for this, Bots for that - hell its an old f8rts nightmare!

Can anyone tell me - honestly - should I cut my losses and slink away, tail between my legs, accepting that this trading lark is for the youngsters, or can an 'oldie' - such as I - make a REASONABLE income from trading (horses only) without automation - to augment his current low part - time wages and impending state pension?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those bods who expects to make a fortune in a weekend (though it would be nice!) but all this analytical stuff and then Bot creation based upon it, is doing my head in!

Any comments on this topic would be MUCH appreciated!

Cheers all

George.

[Anbell]

How old are you?

[Derek27]

Hello all! (The modern idiom is "Hi" but I'm an 'old(er?)-f8rt' so please forgive me!

I've been using BetAngel to trade for a few years now (was excited by its prospects originally and am now WELL in arrears financially due to that excitement! - LOL) My major issue, is that these days there is so much talk about automation! Bots for this, Bots for that - hell its an old f8rts nightmare!

Can anyone tell me - honestly - should I cut my losses and slink away, tail between my legs, accepting that this trading lark is for the youngsters, or can an 'oldie' - such as I - make a REASONABLE income from trading (horses only) without automation - to augment his current low part - time wages and impending state pension?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those bods who expects to make a fortune in a weekend (though it would be nice!) but all this analytical stuff and then Bot creation based upon it, is doing my head in!

Any comments on this topic would be MUCH appreciated!

Cheers all

George.

I'm in my mid-fifties but have been programming since the age of 14 so technology holds no fears for me. That said, I've only recently started working on automation and haven't yet gone live with anything serious. It's perfectly possible to make a worthwhile profit purely as a manual trader and you're never too old to create bots or even learn to code. You either have the aptitude or you don't, but the ones who don't can be of any age.

[megarain]

If you truly understand your specialist area, it doesn't matter how old you are.

I have almost never made a profit from bots, but make a living manually trading.

Am well past your age .. work harder.

[Euler]

With age comes experience. A lot of younger people waste energy experimenting or trying stuff that the oldies have all seen before. So where intellect is involved I don't think age is a barrier.

Warren Buffett is 91 but he couldn't be an Elon Musk. Different game.

[Derek27]

With age comes experience.

...and senility!

[LeTiss]

I don't buy into this at all.

I'm 51 and have been self-employed since 2008
Last year despite all the shit going on in the world, I had my best year in quite a few years, so age here isn't a factor

90% of my trades are manual
10% of my activity is automation, but even then they are predominately used as alerts to opportunities, as opposed to placing bets

You simply need to work harder at identifying your mistakes and finding ways to eradicate them
The only reason age could be a factor, is because you've reached a point in your life where you can't be arsed to make the effort anymore

[Carthorse]

Hi
I am also older and have been on BetAngel/Betfair/Betdaq for many years.
The concepts interested me as a hobby not a living, but my main work kept me too busy to keep up with
the “big boys” as it were.
However I now have the opportunity to re-visit this hobby in earnest.
Not to make a massive living but to work it in with my lifestyle.
Rather than playing games online to kill time I like this style of game where you can actually earn
something back. It just depends how much you are looking to make I guess.
The information provided on the Forum has saved me an eternity and am more able to catch up with bots and the like. This is all credit to Euler , Dallas and fellow Traders who are prepared to share and assist when needed.
As the golfing legend Jack Nicklaus said to Jack Grout every year “ I am a beginner ...teach me “
That is exactly what I have done – going back through the Academy Courses and Peters' excellent videos ( by subscribing and being alerted by YouTube ).
I have revised my staking to suit and actually use BetDAQ to test out strategies and/or bots first.
Nothing wrong with going back to basics – it works.

Keeeep Trading

[ANGELS15]

I'm 59 and do mostly back to lay trading. I've developed automation for this and it is profitable. I've also developed some dog automation which is also profitable. I don't think age has anything to do with it. Before I discovered trading I used to do a lot of betting in-running. I basically drew on my experiences from the past to devise new and more effective ways of doing things. You really need an effective proven strategy, once you have that there are many people on here who can advise on how to automate it.

[PeterLe]

If you truly understand your specialist area, it doesn't matter how old you are.

Id agree completely with this. Age has nothing to do with it
id probably extend that thought above to being able to 'truly' understanding how the prices move.
I'm the same age as the opening poster and I made more yesterday from betfair than i did for my salary and Im lucky enough to have a well paid job.
regards
Peter

PS Having a growth mindset is important. Last year I self taught how to program in Python (and there was an added bonus/by product, that I noticed new things about the markets that I hadn't seen before. They had been there all the time by the way, I just hadnt seen them). Yesterday i completed a course on cyber security for my job, which I really enjoyed
You're NEVER too Old to learn new things!, its one of the simple pleasures of life imo

[ShaunWhite]

57 here. I think, might be 58.

Similar story to many others, a career in IT and gave it all up for a quieter life about 10yrs ago. The automaton side is getting very techy and starting from scratch would be hard as its hard enough even if you've got a run up. But manual trading is another thing, I think maturity is a big advantage. And tbh once learnt, manual trading skills should hold you in good stead for years whereas automated strategies come/go and need much more effort to stay up-to-date with the changing technology.

The bottom line really is that 50somthing isn't old. Hopefully you've got another 30yrs and that's only a bit less than the number of adult years you've had so far! We're only just over half way through really so no reason to be giving up yet and definitely no reason to be calling yourself an "old fart".

[deestar]

Short answer is no. I automate because I'm rubbish at manual trading, and don't want to stare at a screen all day. Nothing to do with age.
I'd hazard a guess most full timers on here and on the exchange are at least 40+ with some sort of career and financial stability behind them - myself included.

[MobiusGrey]

57 here. I think, might be 58.

Similar story to many others, a career in IT and gave it all up for a quieter life about 10yrs ago. The automaton side is getting very techy and starting from scratch would be hard as its hard enough even if you've got a run up. But manual trading is another thing, I think maturity is a big advantage. And tbh once learnt, manual trading skills should hold you in good stead for years whereas automated strategies come/go and need much more effort to stay up-to-date with the changing technology.

The bottom line really is that 50somthing isn't old. Hopefully you've got another 30yrs and that's only a bit less than the number of adult years you've had so far! We're only just over half way through really so no reason to be giving up yet and definitely no reason to be calling yourself an "old fart".

The question for me though is, can you beat the bots? When Betfair first started a few years ago, a manual trader only had to be better than other manual traders, now you're up against heavily botted markets, surely it's becomming a market where it's only really bot vs bot and the best bot wins?

[deestar]

[/quote]

The question for me though is, can you beat the bots? When Betfair first started a few years ago, a manual trader only had to be better than other manual traders, now you're up against heavily botted markets, surely it's becomming a market where it's only really bot vs bot and the best bot wins?
[/quote]

Disagree with that. I think people overestimate how sophisticated most bots are. You'd laugh if you saw the mechanics of mine, but they make a good income. Maybe there are some AI machine learning bots on their way that will blow us all out of the market but at the moment, I think most of the bots operate with a few core triggers based on a few core signals.

A good manual trader can be a lot more flexible, intuitive and reactive. In terms of return in any one market they should leave my bots for dead. But my bots never sleep, so i make up for a lower return with more activity.

[Realrocknrolla]

Wow…. You lot are old!!!