Trading Diary

[steven1976]

Isn't there a setting that limits exposure in any given market built into BA? Maybe set that at say 50,100. It will stop you opening a trade on a level your not comfortable with if the market suddenly shoots against your opening position and will restrict you from putting further trades in and give you a reminder as your trying to enter more trades but can't.

[dannycutts]

Isn't there a setting that limits exposure in any given market built into BA? Maybe set that at say 50,100. It will stop you opening a trade on a level your not comfortable with if the market suddenly shoots against your opening position and will restrict you from putting further trades in and give you a reminder as your trying to enter more trades but can't.

yup...

but if you lay something your exposure can be £1K but you can still get out before then...

[steven1976]

Then change the exposure and accept you can only say lay 10 quid at 5s. Why lay 200 at 5s if it's a level of exposure that you are uncomfortable with, if its your complete bank as in the OP case I take it.

[dannycutts]

Then change the exposure and accept you can only say lay 10 quid at 5s. Why lay 200 at 5s if it's a level of exposure that you are uncomfortable with, if its your complete bank as in the OP case I take it.

depends on the strategy... you may need to be laying at higher odds...

[ShaunWhite]

I was trading greyhounds. ... and now a £400 red.

Sorry to hear about your sad loss shr. You might be overloaded with suggestions but here's mine.

You said you lost it on dogs, but I thought you traded horses? You also mention automation and I bet you look at football too. What else? Bolivian womens hockey, two flies on a wall?

Sounds to me like you have far too many plates spinning? Focus on ONE thing. I used to try all sorts but had some nasty scares. Now I just do the ONE thing because when I try anything else, it usually goes t!ts up. So I stick to my one little thing. Sure it seems a bit dull but I'm not doing this because it's exciting, and however dull it is, it's not as dull as working for the man. I'm a smart-arsed sob some of the time (as most here will testify to) but even I had to accept this is waaaay too big to try and learn everything at once.

They say a sushi master spends his first year just cooking rice, he certainly isn't having a go at chopping up blowfish with his penknife in his lunch hour

At the very least adjust your liability in line with a given market's volatility, that way there's no sudden shocks, no quick decisions.

[Pinnochio]

Thanks for your post pinnichio, becasue of you I am going to put an extra two hours an evening for the next 6 weeks trading the greyhounds. Keep your posts coming I need it to fire me up.
Honestly, I am grateful for your post.

Hope this greyhound loss wasn't my fault

Take it your horse racing isn't up to scratch yet crazyskier

have to say I'v been impressed with your greyhound bot due to your low liability.

You can just tell when someone going to make it.

I thought the same thing Marko, always good too see people cherry picking what pnl to show whilst doling out advice

[Crazyskier]

I thought the same thing Marko, always good too see people cherry picking what pnl to show whilst doling out advice [/quote]

The subject was automation and long term doggy profits - that's what I linked. And FYI the 'advice I doled out' was about how automation can prevent going on tilt - something that has proven itself to me for over a year now.

Also FYI - my horse PnL is also a PLUS figure, rather than a minus one you seem to suspect it is. I have my own reasons for not wishing to display that, so sorry if you find 'cherry picking' to be disappointing in some way...

[Pinnochio]

Maybe you should have edited out the other sports too in that case

[Lutruwita]

Hi,

I was in a similar position to you 18 months ago when I began trading.

This year I have been very successful (at least in my mind), despite making numerous mistakes and, at times, letting emotions get the better of me. I've also suffered big losses (over $3k) on a few occasions: 1) I had an internet outage right on jump time and my lay position won; 2) not realised I had a lay position in the market; 3) letting a position go in-play.

But I have specialised and played to my strengths - i.e I have the same habits I replicate over and over again. I don't trade greyhounds and I usually lay then back due to oddities in the Australian market. So it is possible to pick it up extremely quickly, but you have to remain diligent and focused. However, Seahorse you seem all over the place mentally and in what markets you are trading.

[eddy4005]

Hi good morning, i proberly shouldnt post this but im sad that the beginers on here seem to lose, because they are chasing a dream that dont exist.
Yes you can earn a living off of betfair but its restricted to the very few who know the mechinism.
its not about which way you think the markets going or anything to do with the way you think,its all to do with who is in control of the book.
do you notice if you trade with £2 you proberly get your one click trade, but as soon as you put any large amount of money into the market you send it rushing the other way,this happens time and time again.
there is a simple explanation for this Betfair cant lose, They can move markets in any direction and normally scare people who have little kitties out of the market you then green up or red up and then the market comes back.unfortunetly because dogs dont have a starting price and you cant be sure when the market is going to suspend ,you have to come out early , but betfair dont they just level their book everytime,same with horseracing it doesnt matter how a horse is doing in running the odds dont match until the last furlong, look at some stats a 20/1 horse running at the back without a chance in hell gets to 3s in running but the front runner dont move.
so my tip to you is be carefull but look at the market in depth if a considerable amount of money as been traded ie on a back,
the market will always move in the oposite direction for the same amount to conteract the move.
Peter always states the the market is like an elastic band it gets to a certain point and springs back, watch for the large amounts of matched bets that cause this. I hope this helps and dont think putting large amounts in the market will return bigger profits, you will cause the drift or the surge. This is what most traders wont tell you because they are all looking for their edge.The reason i am telling you this is because a guy that i introduced to trading, sadly lost everything in hes life chasing a dream and he thought gambling was the answer it wasnt.
sadly he took hes life and i would rather tell people what happens then hide horse racing trading facts.

[SeaHorseRacing]

Thank you for the advice Eddy.

My faults are not knowing what the markets will do.
Over the last 5/6 months I have probably only had no more then 15 losing days. I don't think there is anymore to learn about the markets other then being open minded and learning on the way.
It just every now and then I have a brain fart and let a small mistake worse and worse. My £400 loss was only two weeks of profit but it was the fact that if my bank was £4,000 I'd probably of blown that.
If this happened every week I could get better but it doesn't so I am working on something so I don't do it again.
I have one major problem that keeps coming back to haunt me.
I do think I am getting better though because this time last year I think I would have deposited more the other night and the next day I would have probably raised stakes.
I made a profit again the last two days so my acceptance has certainly improved.
I am just grateful for it because I have learned more about myself and no matter how well your doing it takes one split second to ruining a years work.

One thing I have noticed is confidence helps at taking losses.
So I am going to implement this into my daily activities

[Crazyskier]

no matter how well you're doing it takes one split second to ruining a years work.

Again, I say: Look to Automation and Don't Deviate, even if it's only a green/hedge up at 15 seconds before event start. IT WILL SAVE YOUR BANK FROM TILT MODE.

Otherwise I suspect that you're only destined to repeat yourself as I and many others have countless times... And that is soul-destroying, as the last but one post attests.

CS out

[SeaHorseRacing]

After a bad start and before I even planned I managed to lose money. I am officially starting today.

I have made the decision not to label each day by accesending numbers as there is no pressures to do so. Labelling each day with a number may pressure me.

I am starting with a £50 balance and my aim for just December is to manage my account and to not lose money.
If by the 1st January I have £50 in my account I will be very happy.

My only focus for this month is to strip back and focus on my mindfullness and working towards great discipline and money management.
It is not about the money. I think maybe the reason I lost that £400 was because I massively reduced stakes and it feels like your never getting anywhere and for that reason my balance is even smaller.

If I can trade and manage a £50 account I believe this will be a massive accomplishment.
Sitting at my screens allday long knowing I will only making a couple of quid or lose a couple of quid will be some accomplishment.

The journey begins...

[SeaHorseRacing]

no matter how well you're doing it takes one split second to ruining a years work.

Again, I say: Look to Automation and Don't Deviate, even if it's only a green/hedge up at 15 seconds before event start. IT WILL SAVE YOUR BANK FROM TILT MODE.

Otherwise I suspect that you're only destined to repeat yourself as I and many others have countless times... And that is soul-destroying, as the last but one post attests.

CS out

I have spent the last 12 years gambling without knowing or even thinking about how to manage my money.
My behavour is programmed in my DNA and I am going to try and eradicate it. It takes time to change and I am prepared to put the work in. I am not going to give up and switch to automation.
It is not soul destroying in fact I am really happy for my £400 loss because it grounded me back to earth.
Plenty of people have managed it just like Caan Berry. I am not quitting I am simply re thinking. I have to move forward.

[ShaunWhite]

but as soon as you put any large amount of money into the market you send it rushing the other way,this happens time and time again.

I can see how this happens if you're putting in orders and affecting WoM, but if you're taking offers it doesn't have the same effect. You can cause yourself issues by trying to get that extra tick especially in low liquidity/high volitility markets.

Betfair cant lose, They can move markets in any direction

Betfair can't lose because they're a broker not a bookmaker....I'm yet to be convinced that they manipulate markets, or have any need to, other than via the side effects of cross-matching.

a guy that i introduced to trading, sadly lost everything in hes life chasing a dream and he thought gambling was the answer it wasnt.

People with gambling issues should NOT consider trading. That's like an alcoholic opening an off-licence. I'm sorry if I sound harsh but he needed serious professional help for his gambling issues, not another idea about how to make 'free money'.