Which sport is the most profitable for traders?

[xitian]

I'd like to know which sport you think a trader can make the most from in a year. I guess the question can be looked at from the "average trader in the sport" and "best trader in the sport". It'll be interesting to see whether any of us have a definitely answer or if only Betfair knows what the answer is.

The obvious contenders are horse racing, football, tennis, cricket, golf.

I do fairly well on horse racing, but it's the only sport I've really been focusing on, and I have no idea how well other traders do on the other sports.

I would have thought that it would likely be between horse racing and football. I hear some people make a lot of money from the other sports, but I would have thought they would be too seasonal and not have enough big competitions in a year to make a consistently high profit from.

PeterW - You obviously trade lots of sports. Would you say horse racing is still your most profitable? And if that's the case, is that just because it's a personal preference or because of the opportunities/size of markets in other sports?

Thanks in advance!

[Euler]

PeterW - You obviously trade lots of sports. Would you say horse racing is still your most profitable? And if that's the case, is that just because it's a personal preference or because of the opportunities/size of markets in other sports?

You could measure profitability in a number of ways so I think you have to be careful about exactly how you choose your measurement.

Horse racing is still top dog for me as there are so many races. You tend to get three meetings a day with seven races so thats 21 markets in the winter and in the summer you can get up to eight meetings. So a footy match is 9 races if you see what I mean. So that determines what I will do. If other sports are on when there is no racing I'll do those.

ROI is remarkably similar across most sports. Over the years the market has gravitated to a lowest common denominator IMHO.

[mcfc1981]

horseracing is prob still my biggest earner but as euler has said thats due to the volume of races.

in order i play the markets if any clash
1.cricket
2.horseracing
3.football
4.golf (majors)
5.tennis

[burdo77]

My ROI for cricket is keeping me ahead by a long way.

Horse racing my profits are small, however Im still learning the markets. manipulators kill my mindset so I find it hard.

[PeterLe]

For me it's:
- Horse Racing
- Football

in the past Horse Racing contributed 99% of the P&L whereas these days football is not far off half way.
it's not that football is generating lots of profits it's more because the horse racing P&L has declined significantly over the last three years for me unfortunately.
Someone asked on here the other day whether it was easier to trade a few years ago than it is now. For me personally it's an emphatic yes!. I don't think I'm alone as there are many profitable members who were on here a few years ago,that we never hear from these days. (even the blog rolls are declining, there's a real shortage of the quality ones - Dont you think?)
having said that, there are still some people doing very weel out there, Peter; Cann and Steve(Mugsgame) spring to mind.
my only regrets are that I didn't push the stakes higher back in 2011 (mind you I was using 18 times my current stake at the peak)
sorry I've waffled on a bit there!
Regards
Peter

[xitian]

Well from the responses, I'm glad to hear that I picked the right sport to start with all those years ago. The consistent number of races almost every single day in the year was a definite attraction.

it's not that football is generating lots of profits it's more because the horse racing P&L has declined significantly over the last three years for me unfortunately.

I think fortunately for me I've managed to keep my profits fairly steady. I had a peak in 2011, trailed off a bit in 2012 and 2013 (although was back in the office full-time at that point), then 2014 picked up again.

My 2014 was actually better than my 2011 based on gross profit (i.e. excluding PC). I have had to continually adapt and refine strategies though, and I think one reason I've managed to maintain my edge is because I've focused purely on racing and not spun out to other sports. Taking on football is something I do want to do now that I've got more time though (free from the office again!).

I think the new API has helped too actually, although I was very wary at the beginning. Not having any data or transaction restrictions has relieved some of the more technical challenges. But also my portfolio now has more strategies earning a little bit of money rather than a couple strategies earning a lot back in 2011. This wouldn't be possible if there were low data or transaction thresholds, and I certainly wouldn't have any chance of betting on footy at the same time as Saturday racing!

Over the years the market has gravitated to a lowest common denominator IMHO

Yup, I think my comment of having more strategies which earn a little is an example of that. I'm effectively earning less per transaction than I used to, but have upped my transactions by creating new strategies. Smaller margins, and therefore you have to have more pies to be earning the same as before.

[PeterLe]

My 2014 was actually better than my 2011 based on gross profit (i.e. excluding PC).

That's interesting; Are you pre race/Inplay or both?
Regards
Peter

[xitian]

That's interesting; Are you pre race/Inplay or both?

I have strategies for both. I think I used to earn more pre-race, but that's slowly shifted to more in-play. There's not that much in it though.

[PeterLe]

excellent ! long may it continue for you

[xitian]

excellent ! long may it continue for you

Very kind of you!

Things can change very quickly in this world of sports trading though, so I never take profits for granted. I've been very fortunate until now!