Hi
I have been trading now for a couple of months, mostly weekends and the odd day off. I work full time on a contract basis and I earn a decent living, although my job is going nowhere. I stumbled on trading about a year ago and was fascinated with it. I have to say I really love trading. I am very determined and as my current contract is up soon I am considering taking some time, maybe 6 months out, to really give trading a serious go. I feel the work required to reach the top is huge and cannot do this part time. I have about 20k in savings right now
I must say Betangel is terrific software and I enjoy reading the forum. The only thing I am worried about is the amount of negativity I read. I see some successful and experienced traders frustrated and leaving trading altogether or seriously considering going back to a salaried job. Is it still possible to make a living at this game, or has Betfair and their charges ended this dream? I am seeking the opinion of experienced traders. For someone like myself, basically starting out in the world of pre-race horse trading, would you advise it to anyone as a viable career option today?
Is it worth it anymore ?
Even if everybody was earning £1m a year they would still moan 
I've made far more from trading than I have the software, training or anything else. So the opportunity has always been there and still is. If you think £250k is worth it, then that's a pretty decent goal.
You are under no obligation to do it full time as most sports take place in the afternoon, evening and weekend so it's a good compliment to something else. Most of my money comes from Thursday to Sunday and that's skewed heavily to the weekend. I could drop the rest of the week. In the summer I often drop Monday's and Tuesday.
Some people struggle with the solitary nature of trading so having something else isn't a terrible thing. I know of a trader who earns a good sum each year but still has a part time job first thing in the morning for social reasons.
I've made far more from trading than I have the software, training or anything else. So the opportunity has always been there and still is. If you think £250k is worth it, then that's a pretty decent goal.
You are under no obligation to do it full time as most sports take place in the afternoon, evening and weekend so it's a good compliment to something else. Most of my money comes from Thursday to Sunday and that's skewed heavily to the weekend. I could drop the rest of the week. In the summer I often drop Monday's and Tuesday.
Some people struggle with the solitary nature of trading so having something else isn't a terrible thing. I know of a trader who earns a good sum each year but still has a part time job first thing in the morning for social reasons.
I have been self-employed since 2008 after being made redundant
The solitary nature of this job is challenging, as Peter suggests. I've failed to create the right balance of Trading/Social Life/Relationships/Family, and this is what I admire about PW more than his trading returns.
It's tougher now than it was in 2008, and last year I decided to get a 'normal' job. However, at 44 with having been detached from the workforce for 6-7 years, it became clear I was never going to find a job that pays what I get from trading
Basically, I'm just squirrelling money away, so when trading becomes impossible, I'll be in a position to chill out and make future decisions based on my personal needs rather than financial needs.
The solitary nature of this job is challenging, as Peter suggests. I've failed to create the right balance of Trading/Social Life/Relationships/Family, and this is what I admire about PW more than his trading returns.
It's tougher now than it was in 2008, and last year I decided to get a 'normal' job. However, at 44 with having been detached from the workforce for 6-7 years, it became clear I was never going to find a job that pays what I get from trading
Basically, I'm just squirrelling money away, so when trading becomes impossible, I'll be in a position to chill out and make future decisions based on my personal needs rather than financial needs.
Its definitely still worth it, there is good money to be made trading still,nothing has changed there.
What has changed though is peoples attitudes. You are right about all the negativity. Before the premium charges there was a real buzz about trading and exchanges. High profile traders and gamblers were very open about there winnings, often posting on blogs and even on the betfair forum showing the huge amounts they were making on an almost daily basis.
This was Betfairs biggest advert. This created a rush and everybody wanted to be a trader/gambler/exchange user. Nobody had a bad word to say about Betfair.
Though since the charges people have understandably become disgruntled. Even the poeple not directly caught up in the charges felt like they had been mistreated.
The buzz around trading/exchanges has definitely gone, people are more reluctant to post there profits and come forward about what is achieveable due to the fear of more charges and more unfavourable terms. Nobody has anything good to say about Betfair anymore which in my opinion was the main damage that the PC caused.
People are understandably more negative and downbeat about it all now, though if you can see past all that, as things stand currently, it is definitely still worth starting out.
The negativity stems from the charges and nothing else, though with more liquidity and no premium charges at Betdaq, hopefully things will start to pick up again, and the positivity of what can be achieved with a bit of time and effort will return.
What has changed though is peoples attitudes. You are right about all the negativity. Before the premium charges there was a real buzz about trading and exchanges. High profile traders and gamblers were very open about there winnings, often posting on blogs and even on the betfair forum showing the huge amounts they were making on an almost daily basis.
This was Betfairs biggest advert. This created a rush and everybody wanted to be a trader/gambler/exchange user. Nobody had a bad word to say about Betfair.
Though since the charges people have understandably become disgruntled. Even the poeple not directly caught up in the charges felt like they had been mistreated.
The buzz around trading/exchanges has definitely gone, people are more reluctant to post there profits and come forward about what is achieveable due to the fear of more charges and more unfavourable terms. Nobody has anything good to say about Betfair anymore which in my opinion was the main damage that the PC caused.
People are understandably more negative and downbeat about it all now, though if you can see past all that, as things stand currently, it is definitely still worth starting out.
The negativity stems from the charges and nothing else, though with more liquidity and no premium charges at Betdaq, hopefully things will start to pick up again, and the positivity of what can be achieved with a bit of time and effort will return.
After about 6 months of trading on practice mode I will now be going live at the end of June as I am being made redundant and I can definitely see a good living in trading sports markets. You cant just trade horses and football though you need to trade lots of sports there is money everywhere! Darts, tennis, snooker, rugby league, rugby Union, golf, cricket it will reduce your risk the more sports you trade because you only need to make a little bit of money in each market and your earning a great living. Another thing aswell is you have to love sport! I love sport! always have and if you love sport then you will love learning about sports an ofcourse the more you know about sport the better you trade it. There is soooooo much opportunity out there!, dont let negative people effect what you already know, if you have traded successfully before then it doesnt matter what other people are saying. Just like anything in life you have to be confident coz if your not it will NEVER work out.