An old newbie needing help.

[sniffer66]

I am retired and thought that I would be able to have a small tax free income to supplement my state pension, do you thing that is feasible?

Hi Eric, regardless of age I would honestly only go for it out of passion or fun

That's good advice. I'm 58, and took early retirement from a 30 year IT job a year ago. I actually have more fun with the coding, data analysis and making things work how I want or creating solutions, than I do actual trading. It keeps my mind active and I'm learning something new every week. I treat the money as just a way of keeping score, I don't really need it

[ANGELS15]

I still do the dobbing and offset betting as the methodology is still relevant and effective. What happened was a rare occurance and also my own failure to account for the withdrawn horses. Having said that it is still possible when doing an automated DOB that a horse is withdrawn seconds before the off so that the resulting rule 4 could result in a loss.

I've done well over 10,000 of these and I've only had it happen to me on a couple of occasions. Fortunately the odds on those particular horses weren't huge so I didn't lose too badly. Also the DOBBING on the huge odds horses is quite rare making up less than 2% of my selections.

It's good that you've learned from the experience and moved forward. Many might have been discouraged by that and chosen a different path. If you don't mind my asking, have you automated the process now, or are you still handling it manually?

I automate it as it's quite a straightforward process. If you want to learn more look up Peter Webb's videos on youtube on how to create a dobbing and or back to lay automation.

[wearthefoxhat]

I am retired and thought that I would be able to have a small tax free income to supplement my state pension, do you thing that is feasible?
Kind regards,
Eric AKA boscow.

Yep.

Would suggest keep learning new skills, and one of them is this pastime. (keeps the mind active)

I would also recommend learning some excel. My knowledge base has increased since Chat GPT has entered the fray. (free version is adequate) In the space of 9 months, I've created a horse race ratings spreadsheet that takes across key data and spits out ratings converted into its' own tissue price. It can be used for laying poor value rated runners, backing good ones, and even spotting ones that anticipate the price movement.

The biggest edge you will have is choosing the race types and when to bet/trade and when not to. Add in good bankroll management and keeping your emotions in check, you'll get there.

[lavenham]

It took me over a year to develop an approach that works for me, based on Peter's videos, this forum and personal experience of watching the markets.

Even though my approach works for me, it doesn't mean someone else could copy it and it would work for them. We all learn and think differently and even see things differently on the trading screen.

Good luck and hope you find an approach that works for you.