Please tell me there's a moment it just clicks into place!

[Iron]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I do hope to stop using practice mode soon. However, I think it's an effective way of testing out strategies without risking real money.

OK, you might make money in practice mode and lose money with a live account. However, if you don't make money in practice mode, you won't make money 'going live', so it's a good place to start.

I've been logging my results on a spreadsheet, and I do make a profit overall with my paper bets, so I'll probably take the dive in the near future, and use real money.

Jeff

Start puting money into the markets Jeff. That's an order.

Studying the markets is great, but you won't get a feeling of them if you don't start punting money around.

Nobody learned to ride a bike without taking the stabilizers off.

It's why I'm against the practice mode on BA.

[CaerMyrddin]

I had no intention in being rude in any way, please apologise me if you were offended Jeff

[Iron]

Hi Antonio

I was not at all offended, and didn't think you were being confrontational, particularly as you used a .

No apology needed.

Jeff

I had no intention in being rude in any way, please apologise me if you were offended Jeff

[Consty1]

bear in mind not all races are best to scalp, or at different times they become to jumpy to scalp. been a few today like that. keep watching and try to identify when suitable to scalp and when not.

I'm trading with meaningless stakes so I literally trade every race I can just to get experience but today's races have been pretty much impossible for my current skill level. Pretty sure I only profited from one race out of the entire afternoon card. Contrast that to yesterday where the exact opposite was the case and it's dented my confidence no end.

I'm trying not to be results orientated but I genuinely felt like I had an understanding of every trade I made yesterday.

Come to think of it, today's races seemed to be of a higher liquidity than yesterday and overall just massively unstable (to me at least).

[Iron]

I've also felt that today's races were a bit volatile.

Remember that you don't have to trade every race. If you feel the price is bouncing around too much, just sit back and wait for a decent opportunity to come along. Resisting the temptation to reach for your mouse all the time can be one of the hardest parts of trading!

Jeff

Come to think of it, today's races seemed to be of a higher liquidity than yesterday and overall just massively unstable (to me at least).

[to75ne]

OK, you might make money in practice mode and lose money with a live account. However, if you don't make money in practice mode, you won't make money 'going live', so it's a good place to start.

I've been logging my results on a spreadsheet, and I do make a profit overall with my paper bets, so I'll probably take the dive in the near future, and use real money.

Jeff

Consty1

perhaps yesterdays cards the majority of races were more scalpable than today 9 i rarely do mondays so i could not say.

keep watching and using small stakes,you will sus it out in time.

jeff,
practice mode is a recent thing as you know.
plenty of people learnt without it.

Start puting money into the markets Jeff. That's an order.

Studying the markets is great, but you won't get a feeling of them if you don't start punting money around.

Nobody learned to ride a bike without taking the stabilizers off.

It's why I'm against the practice mode on BA.

[hgodden]

From a scalping ans stability point of view todays races have been pretty annoying for sure. Sometimes it goes like this but the good news is it doesnt get much worse and the activity behind it cannot continue forever or people would simply work out what those people are doing and profit from it. Just try to adjust to what is infront of you at the moment and don't equate whats happening in the short term to the long, the markets change subtly from day to day

[Consty1]

I've also felt that today's races were a bit volatile.

Remember that you don't have to trade every race. If you feel the price is bouncing around too much, just sit back and wait for a decent opportunity to come along. Resisting the temptation to reach for your mouse all the time can be one of the hardest parts of trading!

Jeff

Because each tick size is only small in terms of pence I'm kind of just trying to get myself in as many shitty spots as possible to try and learn from them. I think if I was using reasonable stakes I'd probably refrain from entering at such points.

But I guess I learnt today that if the markets are making you feel confused and uncomfortable then it's probably best to stop trading and do something else. As I say though whilst I'm using small stakes I'll just trade everything I see.

[Iron]

Why not just focus on quality opportunities (as if you were using a decent sized stake) and see how you do?

Jeff

. Whilst I'm using small stakes I'll just trade everything I see.

[Consty1]

Why not just focus on quality opportunities (as if you were using a decent sized stake) and see how you do?

Jeff

Well I kind of did that yesterday and concentrated on being really selective with my entry points. Perhaps I was slightly over confident today assuming that I could increase my entry volume whilst still maintaining quality opportunities.

Perhaps I've also learnt today that one strategy doesn't fit all (I've read a lot about different strategies suiting different types of races but until now I hadn't seen it in action).

[Iron]

Hi Consty

If you're confident that you have an edge with a particular trade, or you're just experimenting, then I'd go for it.

But otherwise, I'd use the 'if in doubt, stay out' principe.

Better to be out of a trade, wishing you were in, than in a trade, wishing you were out!

Jeff

[Consty1]

I intend to stick with this (despite how frustrating it can be!) so I'd like to explore every market possible with small stakes and in theory be more comfortable when I do move up in stakes. I'm sure increasing the stake size will bring a set of new challenges anyway.

[Consty1]

I appear to have developed a fear for entering a trade as my brain's coordinating the click of the mouse button with negative results. Another horrific day trading has compounded it. I think it may be best I don't trade for a few days and try and study the markets instead.

I've pretty much traded every day for the last 6 weeks as well as researching in the evenings etc and my results are getting worse so I need to figure out why.

[Iron]

I think the markets have been quite choppy today, so that may be part of the reason. How has everyone else found it?

Why not use practice mode for a while, so there's less pressure?

Don't try not to think about the bad results - that makes it worse! Whenever you try not to think about something, you'll end up thinking about it! Instead, refocus your thoughts on the trading itself.

Jeff

I appear to have developed a fear for entering a trade as my brain's coordinating the click of the mouse button with negative results. Another horrific day trading has compounded it. I think it may be best I don't trade for a few days and try and study the markets instead.

I've pretty much traded every day for the last 6 weeks as well as researching in the evenings etc and my results are getting worse so I need to figure out why.

[hgodden]

Sounds like you're just tired. 6 weeks is a hell of a long time to be trading everyday, even some of the loonies on here (you know who you are ) wouldn't do that much without a break!

Give yourself a day or two where you don't even think about trading, it'll do your brain some good. Personally after a stretch of trading (5 days qualifies for me!) it takes my brain a day or two to slow down properly and the rest does it good. You might only be pressing buttons on the screen but in my experience if you keep going too long then your competitiveness suffers. For me, to do this, you have to think and prepare a bit like an athlete to get the best out of yourself. It maybe different for other traders, especially those with bots or those with an amazing understanding of the markets who may find trading easy (wouldnt interesting to hear peoples opinions on this) but that's how it is for me.

Well done on putting so much time in by the way, many people give up after a lot lot less One of the things that seperates those that make it and those that don't is mental stamina and the refusal to give in