I’ve read many comments about the fine line between winning and losing. This applies to life and to trading and this aspect is not beyond our control.
In my previous post I mentioned how we can be defined by our circumstances, how we act can be driven by our upbringing and social circumstance. However, what is more important is that it's not set in stone, we can change things by simply adjusting our attitude. Sorry, but we are back to the same thing again; mindset!
I always say there are two types of people in life, victors and victims.
Victors see talented positive people as role models and someone they can aspire to. Victims see them as liars, cheats or conmen. You’ve read it before “he can’t really be making that amount” or “he is just flogging the software”
Victors take responsibility when things go wrong – victims look to something or someone to blame. This relates to what I mentioned previously when a trade turns sour. “That always happens” “I am unlucky” “This is fixed, someone knows what I am doing”
Victors accept they must develop and improve – victims want others to do the work for them and then hand on the good bits - gratis!
Victors regularly meet a challenge head on and fight to achieve success – victims follow the path of least resistance so when they fail they can blame someone else for allowing them to follow that path.
Victors see the market as full of opportunities - victims see potential problems and believe the successful traders are all conspiring against them.
So be honest which one are you; Victor or Victim?
If you’re the latter then it’s time to change your mindset.
Betfair trading made simple - Part 3 - What type of person are you?
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charcoline
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2016 2:06 am
I know i'm always a victim. Learning to be a victor.
Thanks for your post
Thanks for your post
I'm struggling big time. Made a good living from outright betting on GP1 and black type events on flat and graded NH events.
Im well into 30k losses this year and do not blame ANYONE , but myself. I even rang gamcare to see if i had a problem and the general opinion was that i did not, however I am def reading the markets badly. I may well chuck the towel in after selling various vehicles and now a house, and no i aint joking.
It could well be that my optimism is poorly placed as i always think the next bank will be the one that rises, but I have yet to see consistent profits. Can do a day or two in green then red after red after red. wherever I place an order the opposite occurs. Its not luck or anyone fiddling the screens or software, its my reading of the situation and as it gets worse you get more matter of fact about it.
I wish all on here the best but after a year of doing this Im about to chuck it in. Its a lonely old pc screen and me and i think i want more social interaction. I would love to watch a succesful trader in action and may one day return refreshed.
There's some clever folk on here and their advice is gold dust
Best wishes
Fatsam
Im well into 30k losses this year and do not blame ANYONE , but myself. I even rang gamcare to see if i had a problem and the general opinion was that i did not, however I am def reading the markets badly. I may well chuck the towel in after selling various vehicles and now a house, and no i aint joking.
It could well be that my optimism is poorly placed as i always think the next bank will be the one that rises, but I have yet to see consistent profits. Can do a day or two in green then red after red after red. wherever I place an order the opposite occurs. Its not luck or anyone fiddling the screens or software, its my reading of the situation and as it gets worse you get more matter of fact about it.
I wish all on here the best but after a year of doing this Im about to chuck it in. Its a lonely old pc screen and me and i think i want more social interaction. I would love to watch a succesful trader in action and may one day return refreshed.
There's some clever folk on here and their advice is gold dust
Best wishes
Fatsam
Sorry to hear that sam and under the cicumstances i think at least taking a break is the best thing you could do right now.
Have a few weeks off to get yourself together and clear your mind and have a proper think to decide if this is for you and if it is before even making another trade get booked onto either Peters Masterclass course or the Horse racing workshop then armed with new knowledge and a much better understanding of how the markets work you ll be ready to start a fresh hopefully with a clear head and plenty of positive enthuiasim.
Anyway whatever you decide good luck going forward and hope things pan out for you
Have a few weeks off to get yourself together and clear your mind and have a proper think to decide if this is for you and if it is before even making another trade get booked onto either Peters Masterclass course or the Horse racing workshop then armed with new knowledge and a much better understanding of how the markets work you ll be ready to start a fresh hopefully with a clear head and plenty of positive enthuiasim.
Anyway whatever you decide good luck going forward and hope things pan out for you
Hey fatsam,
Sometimes, admitting to yourself that you have made major errors is tough, but admitting it to others can be therapeutic, as it lifts a weight of your chest
Write down every bet and trade you do - EVERYTHING!
When you are losing money, and especially chasing, it's easy to forget many of the poor decisions along the way.
Many years back, I kept a journal when things weren't going well. It was my bedtime reading - analysing all the things I did well, and all the mistakes I made. It became clear that my mistakes had a general theme, I was making the same mistakes over and again. I then embarked on a mission to retrain my brain, and stop myself from making those identified errors.
Not making mistakes is the first step to success. I was breaking even, and then making small profits. It then just all grew from there, and I have now been full-time for 8-9 years
Don't despair
Sometimes, admitting to yourself that you have made major errors is tough, but admitting it to others can be therapeutic, as it lifts a weight of your chest
Write down every bet and trade you do - EVERYTHING!
When you are losing money, and especially chasing, it's easy to forget many of the poor decisions along the way.
Many years back, I kept a journal when things weren't going well. It was my bedtime reading - analysing all the things I did well, and all the mistakes I made. It became clear that my mistakes had a general theme, I was making the same mistakes over and again. I then embarked on a mission to retrain my brain, and stop myself from making those identified errors.
Not making mistakes is the first step to success. I was breaking even, and then making small profits. It then just all grew from there, and I have now been full-time for 8-9 years
Don't despair
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SeaHorseRacing
- Posts: 2893
- Joined: Fri May 20, 2016 7:06 pm
Fantastic advice.
I have been trading 13 months and the last 4/5 months my focus has been simply on the way my brain is focused and retraining awful habbits.
I have recorded every trade I have ever done in a little black book and I am on the second book now. Not sure if this will help, but it has drastically helped me.
I have 2 simple problems in which I believe were the result of bank busters or hard times.
Impatients- I couldnt sit and watch a market, I will just open a trade because that was what I thought and that is what I stuck with. It is crucial for me to open a market, really focus, and continously montior. Being objeective is critical. If i think the market is going up, I need to wait a little for confirmation, but what happens is you become blind to your own thoughts. Soon as I thought the market was going up my mind was ignoring what the market was telling me. Again when I am in a trade I would simple stay in it until my predefined stop loss hit and close out. Now although that isnt so bad, if you have big moving markets thats fine, but day to day you dont get those big moving markets and you need to know your wrong to catch the swing. Its critical for me to know what is happening at all times. 5 months now although it is easier I am still fighting it. I am profitable but my new behavour is not a habbit yet. Still atleast 1/2 races a day I break one of my rules/new habits to learn.
Rules- I had no rules. I would scalp all the way until the last horse was loaded. Open trades looking for a 10 tick swing when their is 15 seconds on the clock. Simple simple flaws fixed increased my strike rate massivelly.
One other part is focus. Some days I am mega focused, somedays Im not. Its getting better because I am aware and I can tell myself before every trade- Stay focused and act on what you see.
If you come back to it, hopefully my advice may enlighten you to find out why it isnt working for you.
Best of luck
I have been trading 13 months and the last 4/5 months my focus has been simply on the way my brain is focused and retraining awful habbits.
I have recorded every trade I have ever done in a little black book and I am on the second book now. Not sure if this will help, but it has drastically helped me.
I have 2 simple problems in which I believe were the result of bank busters or hard times.
Impatients- I couldnt sit and watch a market, I will just open a trade because that was what I thought and that is what I stuck with. It is crucial for me to open a market, really focus, and continously montior. Being objeective is critical. If i think the market is going up, I need to wait a little for confirmation, but what happens is you become blind to your own thoughts. Soon as I thought the market was going up my mind was ignoring what the market was telling me. Again when I am in a trade I would simple stay in it until my predefined stop loss hit and close out. Now although that isnt so bad, if you have big moving markets thats fine, but day to day you dont get those big moving markets and you need to know your wrong to catch the swing. Its critical for me to know what is happening at all times. 5 months now although it is easier I am still fighting it. I am profitable but my new behavour is not a habbit yet. Still atleast 1/2 races a day I break one of my rules/new habits to learn.
Rules- I had no rules. I would scalp all the way until the last horse was loaded. Open trades looking for a 10 tick swing when their is 15 seconds on the clock. Simple simple flaws fixed increased my strike rate massivelly.
One other part is focus. Some days I am mega focused, somedays Im not. Its getting better because I am aware and I can tell myself before every trade- Stay focused and act on what you see.
If you come back to it, hopefully my advice may enlighten you to find out why it isnt working for you.
Best of luck
Thank you for being so honest fatsam a lot of people inhabit sports and financial trading forums pretending they are doing well when in reality they are doing the opposite.
I think Dallas is spot on with his advice to take a break from all this for a while and see how you feel about trading then. Can I ask if you had undertaken any type of sports trading course? If not then again I would follow Dallas and enroll on one of PWs courses, I'm not saying the course will turn you into a winning trader over night, but I am sure it will help you. The cost of the courses BA provide are tiny in relation to your losses so it could end up being money well spent.
I think Dallas is spot on with his advice to take a break from all this for a while and see how you feel about trading then. Can I ask if you had undertaken any type of sports trading course? If not then again I would follow Dallas and enroll on one of PWs courses, I'm not saying the course will turn you into a winning trader over night, but I am sure it will help you. The cost of the courses BA provide are tiny in relation to your losses so it could end up being money well spent.
I never expected as many responses to my mumblings. A heartfelt thanks to the contributors.
I will not deposit again into betfair. That is a decision i am very sure on. I may well trade again. My issues have not been making profits on trades, its been looking for bigger trades than markets allow.
I am very aware of my shortcomings here and wil try address these over the next few weeks.
To all of you who trade successfully I wish you all the best . I may well have spoilt myself by making large sums of money initially trading, but in truth it was probably hyrdbrid gambling/trading. I dislike gambling without knowledge of an event and yet perversely by trading poor positions I by default gamble.
Theres no luck , its a skill set and mindset which clearly some of you have accquired over time. I may have the patience and time to do so.
For now though Best wishes, keep fit and healthy and enjoy your trades.
Fatsam
I will not deposit again into betfair. That is a decision i am very sure on. I may well trade again. My issues have not been making profits on trades, its been looking for bigger trades than markets allow.
I am very aware of my shortcomings here and wil try address these over the next few weeks.
To all of you who trade successfully I wish you all the best . I may well have spoilt myself by making large sums of money initially trading, but in truth it was probably hyrdbrid gambling/trading. I dislike gambling without knowledge of an event and yet perversely by trading poor positions I by default gamble.
Theres no luck , its a skill set and mindset which clearly some of you have accquired over time. I may have the patience and time to do so.
For now though Best wishes, keep fit and healthy and enjoy your trades.
Fatsam
I have a final bank of £200 and will trade it like an investment and not a wage earner. I will be away for 2 weeks and will only trade as and when i feel the markets are tradeable. I can learn more from sitting watching and recording than i can hitting orders for boredom sake and getting involved with no real indicators.
when i was a punter i had a different mind set, but the basics do apply. Quality and value, and there's absolutely sod all point getting steamrolled into bad events and low liquidity markets purely bescause i've dropped a howler in a previous market. If i do ten a week and know exactly how, why and what i got involved for then this has more long term educational value than jumping about like a box of frogs chasing fly's.
And in the above i'm sure is a lesson for anyone else suffering a similar nut cracker .
Cheers
Fatsam
when i was a punter i had a different mind set, but the basics do apply. Quality and value, and there's absolutely sod all point getting steamrolled into bad events and low liquidity markets purely bescause i've dropped a howler in a previous market. If i do ten a week and know exactly how, why and what i got involved for then this has more long term educational value than jumping about like a box of frogs chasing fly's.
And in the above i'm sure is a lesson for anyone else suffering a similar nut cracker .
Cheers
Fatsam
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Crazyskier
- Posts: 1241
- Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2016 6:36 pm
If it's any commiseration Sam, I, like you have lost high five figures, possibly even into 6 figures with the bookies over the last 3 decades. A typical mug punter. The only reason I'm still here (trying) is due to automation and by making the amounts meaningless until a consistently winning system is found. Now I make £5-£30 daily with 98% success rate - all to £4 and lower stakes.fatsam wrote:I never expected as many responses to my mumblings. A heartfelt thanks to the contributors.
I will not deposit again into betfair. That is a decision i am very sure on. I may well trade again. My issues have not been making profits on trades, its been looking for bigger trades than markets allow.
I am very aware of my shortcomings here and wil try address these over the next few weeks.
To all of you who trade successfully I wish you all the best . I may well have spoilt myself by making large sums of money initially trading, but in truth it was probably hyrdbrid gambling/trading. I dislike gambling without knowledge of an event and yet perversely by trading poor positions I by default gamble.
Theres no luck , its a skill set and mindset which clearly some of you have accquired over time. I may have the patience and time to do so.
For now though Best wishes, keep fit and healthy and enjoy your trades.
Fatsam
I'm still very much in debit at BF, but I can't tell you the satisfaction it gives me to see my balance grow each day, almost without exception. The amounts are less important than the principle for me, at least at this early stage. I have no advice other than to say finding a consistent edge and value has to be the only way to win long term, because as we all know, luck always changes
I wish you all the very best in whatever you decide to do.
CS
Hey im a big lad but the responses i got from my initial ramble brought lump to my throat and a brave tear ventured down my mask.
I thankyou all for the replies and will endeavour to make small gains.
A rest from it all over the coming 2 weeks will maybe enlighten me. I dont need to sprint 24 miles and burn up at the 2 mile marker........none of us do. and clearly the succesful traders know how to keep the momentum up over the long term.
Cheers Bluesky and Crazy. I'll maybe post back with better figures in the not too distant future.
Fatsam
I thankyou all for the replies and will endeavour to make small gains.
A rest from it all over the coming 2 weeks will maybe enlighten me. I dont need to sprint 24 miles and burn up at the 2 mile marker........none of us do. and clearly the succesful traders know how to keep the momentum up over the long term.
Cheers Bluesky and Crazy. I'll maybe post back with better figures in the not too distant future.
Fatsam
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spreadbetting
- Posts: 3140
- Joined: Sun Jan 31, 2010 8:06 pm
Successful traders also have an edge in the market. Stop looking to make profits for now, start looking for those 'edges' and why markets move the way they do. Sticking any money into the market will just cloud your judgement as you'll be watching your bets and not the market for now. Successful punters know they dont have to bet on every market and the same applies when learning to trade.