21 yr old looking for all round advice

[alex1878]

I have just created an account on here after watching countless Bet Angel videos on YouTube. I have just finished University and would like to give betfair trading a proper shot before I have to get a more 'traditional' job...

I love horse racing and use the exchange daily whether that be backing my own selections based on form or (trying) to follow the money.

I am mainly wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction on how to get started, whether that be recommending a trading course or just some general advice from your experience doing this.

Cheers!

[Goobs]

I'd honestly say, don't waste your time!

At your age, building wealth needs to start as soon/early as possible....get a job, start earning and building up equity in every tax-free bucket you can fill up...

Wasting a year or more now doing this could hurt you in more ways than one....

Sure, do it at the weekend as a hobby, but as a way to make money its a total non-runner

[alex1878]

Thanks for your reply. I've noticed that the exchange is not what it used to be in terms of liquidity, would that be one of the main factors as to why it isn't as viable now?

I've spoke to a few people who are still making it work but obviously it's not wise to believe everything you see online.

[jamesedwards]

Far be it from me to discourage new blood into the markets. It's what the exchange desperately needs, and you are very welcome.

But don't underestimate how tough exchange trading is. Pre-off you're up against people who have faster and better info than you. In-running you're up against people with years of race-reading experience and using expensive drone pictures.

Also consider the expected lifespan of horse racing on the exchange. The liquidity and opportunity trend has been down for many years and personally I see no reason for that to change. Would I be confident that horse racing will still be relevant in 10/20 years? I wouldn't bet on it. You will still only be in your 30s. (Lucky!)

Obviously it's not impossible to make a living at this game, otherwise there would be nobody here. I started in 2018 and was lucky to fall into almost immediate profitability, but that is rare. Are you in the UK? It's much harder to manage a bank these days in the UK with all the KYC rules and regs. I wouldn't have been able to even enter the game back then with today's financial rules, and I was 40ish and cash rich, while you're only 21 and fresh out of uni. Do you have any decent cash or income behind you? You will need to demonstrate a reasonable income to be able to deposit and might find yourself cut off if you deposit or lose too much. I believe it's even harder for those under 25?

[Goobs]

That certainly plays a role, but as with most forms of risk taking, it's very hard to find an edge, much less sustain one.

Work in a trad job is pretty much nailed on and money banked in your pension. Something that wasnt clearly explained to me as a young man. Because of the compounding nature of returns over long periods of time, the most firepower is the money that goes in the soonest. You have to think, at your age, every £1 you earn and save into tax-efficientt means should be worth £30 to you at retirement.

There are endless people who will tell you online they can perform all manner of miracles, i'd choose to believe none of them...

[Euler]

One thing I wish I'd done when I was young was take more risk, more chances.

You really have nothing to lose at this point, and you probably have a safety net in terms of family.

I gave the same advice to Adam Heathcote when he was at Exeter university and that didn't turn out too bad.

Lots of people put me off doing stuff when I was young, and as I moved through my career, I realised they were all wrong. Everything worked out OK in the end, but people telling me the risks of doing things when I was young, wasn't the right advice.

Thankfully, I always aspired not to be in a normal job, and that was the key to where I find myself now.

When you are young you can make mistakes and bad choices and still have plenty of time to recover. When you are older, people tend to trade their dreams for security, so whatever takes your fancy when you are young you should try it, to say at least you gave it a go.

[ShaunWhite]

If you do this then remember you won't have a proof of income, renting could be difficult and a mortgage impossible. It's more suited to people already fairly well set up.

[wearthefoxhat]

I have just created an account on here after watching countless Bet Angel videos on YouTube. I have just finished University and would like to give betfair trading a proper shot before I have to get a more 'traditional' job...

Have a read through Jolly Green Giant's thread written over 12 years ago. It'll help you hone in on the important thinking/approach.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=9752

---

I love horse racing and use the exchange daily whether that be backing my own selections based on form or (trying) to follow the money.

Horse racing is a great sport, and uncovering a system/method/trading strategy is good fun. The attributes/variables in winner finding (backing) and loser finding (laying) are many and each race has its own idiosyncrasies. Non-Handicaps over Handicaps for me for profitable angles, but it you can crack the handicaps maze, the rewards could be greater.

----

I am mainly wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction on how to get started, whether that be recommending a trading course or just some general advice from your experience doing this.

Ain''t no one gonna give away their edge on a forum, but, sometimes you pick up a few snippets that get the ole grey matter ticking over.

Somewhere on this forum I posted an approach to keep anyone with a 0/low bank, general advice on starting out. More importantly, how to keep on the right side of affordsbilitiy checks//etc.

1, Do a cashflow of your own income/expenditure. Define how much disposable income you have. ie: £400 a month/4 = £100.

2. Month 1: Deposit £100 into your account at the beginning of the month. During the first month, test your strategy on micro stakes. Protect your bank at all costs. If you blow the £100 for any reason, find out why, learn from it, do not deposit any more until month 2.

3. Month 2 Deposit £100 into your account. Hopefully you still have the first £100 , maybe some profit, now you'll have £200+, Continue with the micro staking, maybe research/develop other markets such as Football/Tennis.

4. Continue with the deposits for 10 months straight. £1000 deposited max. (balance maybe extra with small profits along the way)

During this time, you would have learned basic bankroll management building, disciplined staking, time to test an existing strategy in live trading conditions, researched and developed new markets, increased your knowledge base. £1000+ can then be compounded over the next 10 months. When it hits £1750, withdraw £250. When it hits £2500, with draw £500....etc The bank increases and does not require any new deposits and the withdrawals will gradually increase over time. No need for affordability checks and with Betfair, they'll never close your account for winning.

---

[ShaunWhite]

During the first month, test your strategy on micro stakes.

The other alternative for a young bright person is to embrace the tech and automate, esp in the early days so you can hold down a regular job at the same time.

If you do, then bite the bullet and go the whole data, ML, simulations route, otherwise you'll wish you had after 12months. If you're taking the long view you'll stand a much better chance if you spend 3 or 4 months up front getting tooled up, before launching in a really strong position.

With due respect to the oldies on here (incl me) the way we started isn't necessarily how a young guy in 2026 should approach it.

[wearthefoxhat]

During the first month, test your strategy on micro stakes.

With due respect to the oldies on here (incl me) the way we started isn't necessarily how a young guy in 2026 should approach it.

True, what with A.I., the learning curve should be shorter too. Will depend largely on your own capacity and knowledge base.

Having passion/interest will help for sure.

Dicky Fox (no relation) The Secret to Success. (45secs) (Jerry Maguire)

https://www.google.com/search?client=fi ... eXKBw,st:4

[ShaunWhite]

With due respect to the oldies on here (incl me) the way we started isn't necessarily how a young guy in 2026 should approach it.

True, what with A.I., the learning curve should be shorter too.

100%
It's not going to do it for you but it's a great wingman. Last year I wrote stuff in a few months that 3yrs ago I'd given up on ever being able to do.

New starters planning a trading career need to be mindful of the job they're trying to get especially in the early days when everything seems exciting. In 3-5 years from now, being in front of a screen all day might get boring, or no better than a proper job. But, if you automate then it's 95% an IT job and not much adrenalin to keep things interesting.

Std story seems to be to get a decent job with an income to live on, and when your part-time trading pays more than that, you might think about full-time.

[oferns]

I would not pursue this full time until you trust what you are seeing and believe it can support you comfortably. If your aim is to follow the money, study how it moves—YouTube is useful here, especially resources like Bet Angel that show shifts from ladder to ladder.

I am not strong on form, but I often notice that selections recommended by friends attract support while the favourite does not. If you patiently combine what you observe on the ladder with form analysis, you put yourself in a strong position, whether you trade before the race or in play.

[getagrip68]

I had a real job from 16, paid a fixed percentage of my income into a pension from 17 ... best bet I ever made ... but seriously, I now bet automatically while I'm away at work via Excel, I also play small with the bookies accounts I still have working. I pay more attention when I can at evenings and weekend, that's how I'd treat it, as a serious hobby and not a job ... unless you get to the point where you're making more/hour doing this than working, at which point go for it.

[getagrip68]

I would also work out your ROI, how many bets/trades do you realistically find and what you would have to stake to meet your financial needs. Can you stand the level of staking required (both financially and mentally) to meet that. Simulate winning and losing runs in Excel, using your strike rate and expected return, can your bank handle it, can you handle losing runs mentally. The mental side only really comes with practice and is something I still struggle with after 40 years!

[Aberdeentrad]

A year a ago I finally decided to buy a BetAngel subscription after similarly watching countless videos. I said I'd give myself a year and if my profits covered the subscription I'd carry on, luckily they have a few times over but as others have said it certainly isn't easy. I do this for a hobby and because I enjoy it, that said I don't enjoy it enough to carry on if I was making a loss.

When I signed up I saw myself trading the ladders like the videos and churning out profits, I've tried doing that and so far its not for me. I don't have the mindset / discipline, in fact I've dabbled in various sports and in the end I've gone the fully automated route.

I built a bank doing matched betting and track my trading profits in the same tracker so in a way its not risking "my own" money.

I think one of the key messages is do what suits you and your style / skills. Another key message is value your time, if you are spending full time hours on this you really want to be earning a full time equivalate profit which in reality is difficult to say the least - this is why I have gone into automation, I have no desire to spend set hours at my PC every day, at least with automation you can work at your leisure when it suits, although still needs plenty hours.

If you are sensible with staking in live and use practice mode for testing bots you shouldn't be risking a lot of money - one tip I've picked up in the forums is using tiny stakes in live mode to prove systems, if your system isn't making a profit on penny stakes then your not going to be profitable on pound stakes either.