Blog Title: Mark Iverson - Professional Sports TraderFollow my progress as I trade on sporting events. Hopefully, you'll enjoy reading my blog and sharing my experiences. DetailsNumber of inbound blogs: 28 Number of incoming links: 54 Last update: 2008-03-30 10:05:33 GMT Estimated value: $36,589  Stats for http://markiverson-professionalsportstrader.blogspot.com/Incoming clicks since last reset: 859 Outgoing clicks since last reset: 1895 Incoming clicks total: 1475 Outgoing clicks total: 3483 Detailed stats not available. 
Latest Posts:The Grinder
Blue :2008 Pink : 2007 Orange : 2006 . Since Last Post P/L: £85.15 .Monthly P/L: £1,267.17 It's been a steady if unspectacular end to August but it's left me with a decent return for the month. I was hoping to do better but the important thing for me now is to remember how my results this year compare to where I was 12 months ago. Growth is the name of the game and if I can continue to earn more than the equivalent month in 2007 then I'm continuing down the right track. However, my mind has been wandering lately though so I'm aware I need to buck up my ideas. This could be easier said than done as September now looks a bit bare after the Champions Trophy cricket tournament being postponed and the ever unpredictable British weather threatening to wash out any scheduled cricket. With my trading portfolio now relying so heavily on the bat and willow I'm once again feeling anxious that my good form won't continue as I'm forced to explore sports I'm less familiar with. To this end I'm going to make a concerted effort this year to make the NFL pay and just hope that these weekly match-ups can keep me ticking over until February. .Here's my latest results: . Cricket Worcestershire v Gloucestershire : £77.87 England v South Africa - 4th ODI : £3.33 . Rugby Union South Africa v Australia : £26.04 . Horse Racing Barth : £16.03 Market Rasen : £1.88 Ripon : £2.00 Chester : £0.12 Sandown : £0.43 Newton Abbott : £0.92 Chester: £4.47 . As you can see, the Horse Racing trading still continues to fail! . On a much brighter note, Caden has recovered well from last weeks escapade much to Mam and Dad's relief, so many thanks to all those who gave their best wishes :-) . Dodging Bullets
Since Last Post P/L: £309.10 Monthly P/L: £1,182.02 . Last Friday turned out to be a great laugh - I just wish I could say the same for the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend. . On Sunday, Caden was taken ill and admitted to hospital following a bout of diarrhoea, violent vomiting and a soaring temperature. With his heart conditions also a factor, a view was taken that it was better to be safe than sorry so we grabbed our things and got there as quickly we could. Needless to say, the next few hours were pretty horrendous as they had to give him a thorough going over - the poor bugger was still awake at 2.30am as the Doctors tried 8 times to get a blood sample out of him. I've never felt so distressed. It was excruciating to see him in pain and be absolutely powerless to help him. I've always been a bit of a protective type so to subdue my natural instincts I had to keep reminding myself that it was for the best. This wasn't so easy to do on Monday though, as his lack of wet nappies indicated that he was dehydrated - the solution was to have a feeding tube put down through his nose and into his stomach. If the previous night had been bad this was ten times worse. As they began to pass the tube down, his body began to contract and vomit at the same time - it was horrific. He was screaming, Nic was starting to have a panic attack and I didn't have a clue where I was. . I'm glad to say that after a few minutes things started to get back to normal. Another night of observation followed, but after clear blood test results were received he was discharged on Tuesday. Looking back, I must have come across as being a bit pushy but I'm sure the nurses understand that parents are just worried sick. The thought of him having his heart repair operation is now weighing very heavily on my mind. . As you can imagine, my trading performance over the last week pales into significance compared to the other stuff that's been going on but for those of you still reading here's the full list of my results: . Rugby Union South Africa v Australia : £2.01 . Motor Sport European Grand Prix : £20.08 . Cricket Middlesex v Hampshire : £259.17 Gloucestershire v Middlesex : £27.84 . In all honesty, these figures don't tell the whole story. . On Wednesday, I successfully blew a £250 profit and last night I was staring at a £435 loss on the Somerset v Worcestershire match before a miracle happened. . What saved me? . The tie! Can you believe it!?! . Worcestershire were chasing Somerset's score of 298 and off the last ball required 4 runs to draw the game. Only a boundary would do if I was to escape unharmed and unbelievably that's what happened! I definitely used up one of my nine lives here so I'm planning to have Friday off, take Caden around his grandparents and take Nic out for a curry. I think I've pushed my luck enough for one week. . Vegetating
Since Last Post P/L: £93.29 .Monthly P/L: £872.92 I'm going to try and keep this short for two reasons - it's been another quiet week and because I have to get ready to go out on an all day session :-) .Being given a day-pass from Nic doesn't happen very often so I intend to make the most of it! .So what have I been up to? Well, not a lot. I really haven't had the time to get involved in the Olympics and jumping in without getting a feel for the events is something I've been reluctant to do. Instead, I've tried to stick to the tried and tested but even then things haven't gone my way. . Last night for example I'd forged an all green £50 position in the Pro40 game between Derbyshire and Yorkshire. As I wasn't feeling 100%, I decided to finish earlier than normal and whereas I'd normally take out some insurance against the tie I decided not to bother. What happened next? Yep, low and behold both teams finished on 213 runs and I woke up this morning with a Betfair account balance the same size as it was yesterday. It's very frustrating when that happens, especially as I've wasted quite a bit of my profits covering the tie on previous matches this year. . On Wednesday I also decided to follow one of Graeme's picks as it seemed a good opportunity to pick up an in-running profit. The selection was 'Icannshift' and whilst I agreed that the price of 7.80 was a little short, I was confident it would trade lower than during the race as it was a proven front runner. I backed the horse before the off and submitted a lay at odds of 4.00 to be kept in-play but although the horse led at one point I didn't get matched. No luck this time but that won't put me off following Graeme's thoughts in future - take a look for yourself and visit his blog over at the 'The Experiment'. . My involvement in the Big Brother market has also come to an end and the final picture now looks like the screenshot I've included below. My thoughts on Darnell have changed during the last few weeks. He's not my preferred winner but the British public might just see him as the best of a bad bunch and I could end up with just a £14 profit.  .Here's a full list(!) of my latest results: . Rugby Union New Zealand v South Africa : £53.84 . Cricket Essex v Kent : £16.95 Nottinghamshire v Durham : £47.50 . Horse Racing Folkestone : £25.00 . On a more positive note, things should change a bit next week as there's Cricket on almost every day and the US Open starts. The latter should provide me with the chance to further my Tennis education and hopefully not lose too much money! . Right....now where's that first beer...... . Argy Bargy
Since Last Post P/L: £185.47 Monthly P/L: £779.63 . For a game that appears to have been resoundingly one sided, how the heck did I manage to suffer such a big loss? You've probably already guessed, the match I'm talking about was the South Africa v Argentina Rugby International which took place in Johannesburg on the weekend. The scoreline ended 63-9 in favour of the Springboks so surely this was a 1.01 train?!? . No! . The South Africans pre-match price was 1.05 and although it probably reflected their chance of winning the game, it probably didn't represent value as the Argies are normally a tough nut to crack. Yes, they'd been been buoyed by a recent win over the All Blacks but the situation was different here - this wasn't a Tri-Nations game and the boys in blue and white were fielding a decent team. . So what did I do wrong? . My first mistake was that I didn't really have a strategy before the match began. I find taking a view on what I expect to happen - even if that changes later on - extremely helpful. Without that view I can be prone to indecision, which (for me at least) is usually fatal when quick decisions are needed. . My error was compounded when Argentina started strongly and my lack of control began to breed - a number of heavy tackles were putting the home side on the back foot and following a few infringements the South Americans were able to convert 3 penalty opportunities to open up a 9-0 lead. With 20 minutes gone this was starting to look more of a contest and with memories still fresh in the mind of Argentina beating France on their own patch at the World Cup, the likelihood of an upset began to increase. The odds on the favourites had now drifted to 1.30ish and this is where it went pear shaped. . The South Africans were attacking so I lumped on and got matched within a second. I'd convinced myself that a score was on the cards but a dropped ball and a 60 metre kick ahead saw the visiting team counter attack and myself rushing for the lay button. A try for Argentina here would have put them 16-0 ahead and the market would have flip-flopped straight away. I admit I panicked, and looked to get out of my position at the nearest possible price. My lay was matched at 1.56. . I hadn't followed my usual trading plan, had succumbed to indiscipline and as a consequence paid the price. I was staring at a maximum loss and should have switched off the computer to do something else. Another bout of poor decision making led to me staying in my seat, but fortunately over the next 10 minutes I grafted successfully to lessen my loss by £150. This could have gone tits up though, so grafting when you're down is not something I'd recommend, but it does show that I'd completely lost the plot by this point. . Here are my latest results: . Rugby Union South Africa v Argentina : £202.10 . Golf US PGA Championship : £24.32 . Cricket Hampshire v Sussex : £363.25 . With the weather and other factors (even floodlights!) conspiring against me it's been a quiet week, so to make any profit after all that mess is a minor miracle. Putting those thoughts behind me is now crucial in order for me to keep moving forward. . MISSING: One Fat Lady
Since Last Post P/L: £594.16 Monthly P/L: £594.16 . Her dulcet tones have been heard a million times, but for some reason, this week she's decided to make herself scarce. .Felipe Massa was the first victim of her vanishing act. After beating Lewis Hamilton to the first bend of the Hungarian Grand Prix he looked a shoe-in to storm to an unlikely victory, but it was not to be. With only 3 laps to go, his engine failed and he was out of the race. Ouch - with 18k matched at 1.01 there's a few people out there now patching-up the holes in their pockets. Luckily, I wasn't one of them but I remember thinking at the time that those lumping on the cash must have been mental. . In the Pro40 cricket the twists and turns continued, as Middlesex and Essex both managed to defend low scores when facing Somerset and Northants. The graph below shows the Middlesex price throughout their match and provides a great illustration of why I love trading cricket. The game goes through many peaks and troughs and you don't have to be too concerned with how quickly you can click the mouse button. Not many sports allow you to see a selection open at 1.90, drift to 8.00 and then go on to win! .  .It really is amazing how many 'sure things' get turned over, but spotting a real 'cert' from a dud isn't an easy task. This isn't to say I don't think it's possible or profitable, but in my opinion putting your hopes in animals or machines at such low odds is asking for trouble. Odds of 1.05 on Phil Taylor winning a Darts match and odds of 1.05 on 'Dirty Dobbin' winning the Derby just aren't the same in my book :-) .Here's my results from this week: .Rugby Union New Zealand v Australia : £15.77 .Cricket Middlesex v Somerset : £233.09 Essex v Surrey : £205.39 Warwickshire v Northants : £1.65 .Tennis Moya v Murray : £23.69 Karlovic v Kohlschreiber : £7.74 Murray v Djokovic : £8.76 .Motor Sport Hungary Grand Prix : £115.59 .I'm very happy with those figures and with my focus now completely on becoming highly consistent I just want to keep things moving. I'm aware that with Caden due to have his operation at the beginning of October, trading time will be at a minimum so making the most of the summer will be crucial if I'm going to post a decent total for 2008. .The Olympics also kicks off today and although my knowledge of the various events is limited, it may pay to take a look at the more liquid markets. I'm not pencilling anything in yet but I'll keep my eyes peeled for anything of interest. With the Games guaranteed to generate a lot of media interest, over-hype and national pride may lead to inefficient markets. . No Boundaries
Blue : 2008 Pink : 2007 Orange : 2006 . Since Last Post P/L: £540.23 Monthly P/L: £1,663.86 . Rebecca went! I suppose it was to be expected but after having a pretty successful evening at the races (I won £60) it was a bit of a disappointment to hear that she'd gone. Darnell and Mohamed can count themselves lucky - this is the most open Big Brother there's been and with no certain winner, I can foresee a few shocks and surprises before the series ends. The show seems like it's been on the box forever but there's still another 5 weeks to go! . Saturday was sublime. With the sun scorching and the fans licking their lips, the scene was set for some serious action and the players didn't let anyone down. After 119 overs of pulsating entertainment the tournament went down to the last 6 balls and by this stage I was absolutely knackered. Is there any wonder why this format of the game is attracting so much interest? Everyone loves it! The sooner they scrap the County Championship the better :-) . Fortunately, all this cricket has allowed me to finish the month with a bit of a flurry and with a 12% growth of my trading bank during July, I'm quite happy with how things have gone. By analysing my trading activity in more detail it's helped me to concentrate at a level higher and for longer periods than in recent times. One glance at my key statistics backs this up with my win % particularly pleasing: . Average win/loss per market : £41.60 Average win : £73.43 Average loss : £24.53 Win % : 67.50% . .jpg) . Here's my final results for July: . Tennis Gonzalez v Berdych : £6.61 Robredo v Soderling : £77.73 . Cricket Essex v Kent : £67.63 Middlesex v Durham : £109.56 Kent v Middlesex : £464.16 . Special Bets Big Brother - 6th Eviction : £30.00 . Attempting to teach myself the tennis markets has been a little costly but I get the feeling it'll be worthwhile in the long run. I keep reminding myself that twelve months ago I didn't have a clue how to trade cricket and it was only after spending a lot of time studying the game that things started to turn the corner. I'll keep plugging away as I don't want to become a 'one trick pony' just yet. . Before I go, I'd like to say thanks to those who have voted in my current poll. The results have given me plenty of food for thought and I think the direction on where I'm heading is now a little clearer. . Ciao for now! . YOU Are Evicted
Since Last Post P/L: £402.31 Monthly P/L: £1123.63 . To be honest, I haven't got a clue how to start this post. It's been a strange week. There's been some highs, some lows and a few non events so I'm at a loss as to which I mention first. . Okay, let's start with the bad stuff which all stemmed from the events of last Friday night. It was our works Summer Ball and as expected I got quite drunk. Now this hangover business is bad at the best of times but add a newly born baby into the mix and the following day can become an extremely long one indeed. However, Saturday morning started well - after slipping down a few paracetamols to get rid of the headache, 40 minutes later I'd traded the Tri-Nations game between Australia v South Africa for a profit. I should have stopped there as about midday that all too familiar warm, tingly feeling starting to come over me - you know the one - the achy, eye shutting, roll up in a ball sensation that feels like your body's shutting down. So did I do the sensible thing? Of course not - instead I thought it would be a great idea to give the horse racing markets "another go". You'll see from my results below that I lived up to the old adage that a fool and his money are soon parted. It got so ridiculous that by the end of the afternoon I was 'laying' any horse I didn't like the look of! . Sunday saw the start of my recovery (a combined profit of £0.49 on the Golf and Grand Prix!) but it was from Monday onwards that I started to get back into the swing of things. . I've mentioned many times on this blog about my desire to get more involved with Tennis and as the ATP Masters Rogers Cup began in Toronto, and with not much else happening, it seemed a good opportunity to take a look. Fortunately, the experience was a pleasant one and even after reducing my stake levels considerably (compared to what I use for Cricket) I was able to make over £50 for around an hours work. The only drawback here is that I see Cricket and Tennis conflicting when it comes to scheduling, so I'll really have to think how I structure my weeks to get the best from both worlds. With Cricket again being my saviour over the last few days there's just no way I can consider dropping the sport from my trading portfolio. . Here are my full results from the past week: . Rugby Union Australia v South Africa : £26.13 . Golf The Open Championship : £0.44 . Cricket Durham v Glamorgan : £79.57 Durham v Somerset : £64.56 Glamorgan v Surrey : £294.72 . Motor Sport German Grand Prix : £0.05 . Tennis Llodra v Gasquet : £45.79 Canas v Soderling : £13.28 . Horse Racing Newbury : £99.90 Ripon : £24.67 Market Rasen : £2.05 Yarmouth : £0.29 . So what about this weekend? Well my first involvement is in tonight's Big Brother 6th eviction market. Rebecca, Mohamed and Darnell are the individuals in the mix and after watching the programme regularly I'm convinced that Rebecca's price is a little off. Following last night's programme (she did have a bad show) she was trading at 1.15 and whilst I agree she should be favourite I don't think she'll get 87% of the vote. In the hope that I'm right, I've entered a £200 lay with the view of it being a straight up bet - I'm getting 13/2 that either Mohamed or Darnell will get evicted instead, and I'm happy with those odds. . Tomorrow then promises to be the best day in the cricketing calendar - it's Twenty20 Cup Finals Day! The Rose Bowl in Southampton is the venue and with 3 matches played in succession it'll be a feast of 4's, 6's, wickets and wonga! Even if you're not a cricket fan it's hard not to enjoy all the razzmatazz. . But.....before that all happens, myself and Nic are off to Chepstow races tonight with a gang of people from work. It should be a laugh and I won't be taking it too seriously. I've only given myself a £30 betting budget to play with, and as I'll be counting this as 'leisure time' I won't be recording any wins or losses in my results. . If you're watching on TV, keep an eye out for me, I'll be holding a Betfair umbrella :-) . Monitoring My Markets
Doing The Math
Just taking the time to sit down and go through each market has been hugely beneficial with nowhere to hide but the bare facts - it really has been an eye opener! Okay, so what do they mean - what's the big deal? The key thing to remember here is that each of the above are all linked to each other. You can have a great win % but if your average win/loss per market is a negative figure you don't have to be a genius to work out you're losing money etc. From my stats it seems my main strength is cutting my losses quickly as there's quite a big difference in my average win and average loss figures. This is hugely positive and shows that I must be dealing with the psychological aspect of this game pretty well. If I'm looking to pick holes then maybe it's my average win/loss per market. To make a significant and consistent amounts each month this needs to be higher but Rome wasn't built in a day and I'm sure that this number's on an upward curve. Granted, these statistics are only representing my results for a short period of time so I'm now attempting to go a step further. I've already been in touch with Betfair and requested a full list of my settled markets since the 1st January 2007. This will allow me to build a better picture of how well I'm really doing and hopefully help me construct a road map for the rest of the year. With all of this fresh in my mind I've found it a lot easier to focus over the last few days and it seems to have paid off: CricketDurham v Kent : £170.91 Essex v Yorkshire : £154.96 . Darts Mardle v Gray : £40.45 Jenkins v McGowan : £0.66 Priestley v Stompe : £1.51 Convery v Klaasen : £21.83 Lewis v Thornton : £28.62 Hamilton v Brenneman : £24.67 . Rugby Union New Zealand v South Africa : £118.89 Australia v France : £7.61 . Motor Sport British Grand Prix : £16.87 . On Friday, I was also moved to get involved in the Big Brother 9 winner market. I've not ventured into this area before but after noticing Darnell was a strong joint favourite I felt compelled to shove in a lay at average odds of 3.59. I just can't see him winning and with news that another 3 housemates were going in I was sure his price would drift over the next 9 weeks. At the time of writing he's drifted to 3.80. . I know, I know, it's a TV show - but if you play it right I'm sure there's plenty of money to be made here. Let's hope I'm right! . Time Flies
Since Last Post P/L: £65.98 Monthly P/L: £701.24 . Making a loss at the end of the month is starting to become a very frustrating habit. I know the reasons why I'm doing it but I just can't stop myself. It's all about thinking or taking for granted the money I've got in the bank and adding up the figures before the finish. As a result I'm not fully accepting the potential losses before I enter a trade or sit down to start a trading session. This is vital flaw because what I end up doing is being timid in my approach and not having the conviction I need to turn a profit. This previous post describes perfectly how I should be acting but those feelings are just not there when the last few days of the month are in sight. Then the inevitable happens - I make a loss, then another one and before you know it I'm out of my comfort zone with the prospect of an unbearable loss is on the horizon. What I should be doing is holding back and only getting involved when I'm convinced that things are in my favour and then go in hard. Please remind me about this the same time next month :-) . Elsewhere, the hot topic on other blogs seems to that of recording and keeping track of trading results. Even though I do review my progress regularly on a weekly/monthly basis, after reading Matt's excellent post at Punt.com I also feel I should be doing more in this department. I can see this process taking at least a few days to complete but as soon as I'm done I'll let you know the results. Not sure what the outcome will be but I can tell you now that I'm just not spending enough time at my desk. What with making dinner, bathing the baby, writing the blog and being a part time Project Manager my time is well and truly tied up. Something sooner or later will have to give and I'm in no doubt that without dedicating sufficient time to my trading my results will suffer. If this trend continues then some tough questions may have to be answered. Pete Sampras didn't win 14 Grand Slam men's singles titles from hitting a few balls every other night. . But it's not all doom and gloom. Let me take a minute to reflect on how far I've come. Okay, this month hasn't been great with only a 5% growth to my trading bank but I was away for a week in Ibiza which meant I missed a few events I would have otherwise got involved with. If you look at the bigger picture - I've already made over 6k profit this year which is not far away from my total profit in 2007. If I can continue at that rate of growth I'll be more than happy and 2008 will end up being another fantastic year. I just have to continue looking forward and not dwell too much on the negatives. . Something else which has been playing on my mind has been what sports should make up my trading portfolio. Some sort of prioritisation needs to take place but what criteria should I use? A past history of profits? The sports I'm most familiar with? Sports with markets that have the most liquidity? The list gos on but Mike from the Slipperytoad blog reviewed the issue recently in this post. Historically, Cricket, Rugby Union and Darts have been my most profitable sports but I can't help but feel that Tennis and even Horse Racing should figure more prominently. Getting involved in these events will take time to develop strategies (reviewing statistics/past results etc.) and if I do this my monthly profits are sure to stagnate so you can understand my reluctance to change. Any advice on how to handle this situation from those of you who've experienced this in the past would be much appreciated. . My final results for June were: . Cricket West Indies v Australia : £0.30 . Tennis Vaidisova v Chakvetadze : £48.93 . In my last post I did also forget a market that had been settled in my Australian Betfair wallet : . Rugby Union New Zealand v England : £17.35 . Top Gear
Holiday Hangover
Since Last Post P/L: £152.80 Monthly P/L: £317.49 .I survived ? just! Apologies for not posting sooner but it?s taken a while for me to recover and with the Twenty20 Cup kicking into action I haven?t had much spare time on my hands. It was a great trip but the 4am start on the Friday took it?s toll and by the time I got back at midnight on the Monday I?d consumed enough alcohol to last a lifetime! Reluctantly I?ve had to admit that I?m not as young as I used to be. My days of dancing the night away until the early hours are now officially over. . Positive gains have been difficult to come by recently and a little bit of indiscipline has crept into my trading. After having such a good month in May I suppose it should have been expected! The plan as they say in rugby circles is to now ?build a lead? and not get involved in any rash trades. Little and often needs to be the motto for the next week so I?ll be playing things tight with the aim of growing profits gradually. . Here's a full list of my latest results: . Rugby Union Australia v Ireland : £56.30 New Zealand v England : £20.92 . Cricket Kent v Sussex : £61.79 Worcestershire v Gloucestershire : £4.56 England v New Zealand (T20) : £70.65 Somerset v Warwickshire : £43.77 England v New Zealand (ODI) : £209.35 Middlesex v Surrey : £301.34 Lancashire v Durham : £64.06 . Golf US Open - Winner : £129.31 . Tennis Nadal v Djokovic : £2.45 . The highlight out of that lot was undoubtedly Tiger Woods winning the US Open on one leg - the guy's a freak. The winner market had more swings than a kiddies play park and even though Rocco Mediate was a gallant loser was the result ever in doubt? Tiger's putt on the 18th during the 4th round seemed destined for the hole and you just knew when it dropped that there'd only be one winner. News has broken today that Woods will be out for the rest of the season and whilst you have to feel sorry for him it should make for some competitive tournaments during the rest of the Summer. . Elsewhere, it?s great to see the Betfair Trader back and posting on his blog. He and Matt from Punt.com have been an inspiration to me over the last 18 months so I hope he continues to let us know his thoughts. . That's about it for now and I promise I won't leave it as long next time! . Hitting It For Six
Since Last Post P/L: £164.69 Monthly P/L: £164.69 . Everything must come to an end and this is what happened to the inaugural Indian Premier League on Sunday. The final didn?t disappoint. The tournament was decided on the last ball and the Rajasthan Royals were crowned unlikely champions. In reality, Shane Warne?s men had been the best team throughout the competition so in the end they got what they deserved. . For me, the conclusion of the IPL signalled a stop to a gravy train that had been yielding consistent profits over the last six weeks. It was fun, entertaining and lucrative but now it?s time to look forward to what the rest of the summer holds in store. . June will see the start our own domestic Twenty20 Cup and with Wimbledon on the horizon I may even look to dabble in the shark infested Tennis markets. I?m feeling a growing urge to get involved with this sport and with more time on my hands this seems like an ideal time to try. . Here?s my latest result: . Cricket Rajasthan v Chennai : £164.69 . BUT?before any more trading happens I have a more pressing matter that I need to deal with first ? a 4 day stag do to Ibiza! We leave first thing tomorrow morning and before you start thinking I?m mates with Wayne Rooney I?ll make it clear that my friend looks more like Wayne Sleep :-) . It?s going to be a messy one, there will be burnt holes in my pockets and I will inevitably incur the wrath of Nic on my return but the question remains?..will I last the pace? . A Bridge Too Far
Since Last Post P/L: £45.65 Monthly P/L: £2,805.80 . When a milestone is in sight it?s hard not to try too hard and unfortunately I fell short off the £3k monthly profit I?d been hoping for. Over trading was largely to blame and despite knowing what I was doing was wrong I was drawn like a moth to flame to too many ?false? opportunities. . Hindsight is a wonderful thing and after I?d read the book Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager last year, one saying stuck in my mind ? ?We get out of the markets what we want from the markets?. It?s a profound statement and one which I find hugely thought provoking. Maybe I wasn?t ready to start dealing in those types of numbers just yet? :-) . Here are my final trading results for May: . Cricket Rajasthan v Mumbai : £41.33 Deccan v Chennai : £149.29 Punjab v Rajasthan : £48.16 Chennai v Punjab : £44.02 . Darts Taylor v Lewis : £21.82 . Rugby Union Wasps v Leicester : £8.05 . Many of you will know that until now I?ve been re-investing every penny of my winnings back into my trading bank to try and increase my stake sizes gradually. This has worked well but as I explained in this post, it?s time for me to pay the piper - or Nicola, whichever you prefer. . I guess she?s earned it and at least when I told her the good news that £561 would be winging its way into her bank account she smiled! . In a nutshell, my profit & loss breakdown for the month is as follows: . Monthly Profit : £2,805.80 Golden Handshake to Nic : £561.16 Total to Re-invest into Trading Bank : £2,244.64 . I can?t grumble though, the journey continues to move in the right direction and as long as the destination allows me time to enjoy the things that matter in life I?ll be more than happy. . Becoming A Bot
Since Last Post P/L: £551.20 . Monthly P/L: £2851.45 Here's a question for you - how long does it take for the figures on the screen to become just numbers? After this weekend I'm starting to think that the answer is 'not long'. I've continued to make a decent amount but something hasn't felt right over the last few days. Maybe I'm starting to lose a feel for what I'm doing, maybe I'm starting to take things for granted - I'm not sure. . I'm hoping it's just down to trading the same sport every day. It's the same with anything though, right? You can love steak but if you eat it every night it after a while it'll start to taste a little tough. All these thought have made me think about the other Betfair users out there in similar position and I've been wondering how they cope with it. Are we all robots? Are we all just staring at the screens waiting patiently for 'trading trigger signals' to be met? But I needn't worry, I won't have this problem for long as the Indian Premier League is reaching the business end of the tournament and will climax next Sunday for the Grand Final. I'm sure I'll be looking back and wishing for it's return soon after. . Here's my results for the last week: .. Cricket Punjab v Deccan : £90.57 Chennai v Rajasthan : £70.44 Delhi v Mumbai : £426.47 Deccan v Bangalore : £34.59 Kolkata v Punjab : £2.20 . Rugby Union Heineken Cup - Outright Winner : £35.30 Munster v Toulouse : £43.51 . Special Bets Eurovision Song Contest : £11.00 . Yes, I know - the Eurovision Song Contest!?! Well, if Matt from Punt.com is happy to gamble on Big Brother (I haven't forgotten - ha!) then what's wrong with having a dabble on Europe's political voting showcase? Just in case you're interested, I was on Latvia, Armenia, Sweden and the UK! . Not Counting Chickens
Since Last Post P/L: £754.56 . Monthly P/L: £2300.25 Please believe when I say "I know the rest of the year won't be this good!". The IPL has continued to be the vehicle behind my trading good fortune and it will be tough to say goodbye to it when the tournament ends on the 1st June. I don't want to tempt fate but in my opinion it's lived up to the hype with the fans and players all buying into the concept. In short, it's had it all and the hilarious scenes when the ground staff were trying to hold down the covers at the Kolkata v Chennai game yesterday had me crying with laughter - where else can you find entertainment like that?!? .Everything must come to an end but a quick look at the calendar for June illustrates that it's not all doom and gloom as our own Twenty20 Cup swash buckles it's way into action. There won't be as many games and the weather can always get in the way but it always attracts a lot of interest so I'm hopeful I'll be able to keep up my good form. .Here's a list of my recent results: . Cricket Mumbai v Kolkata : £69.85 Rajasthan v Bangalore : £230.69 Kolkata v Chennai : £130.74 Deccan v Mumbai : £260.36 Bangalore v Delhi : £62.92 . Elsewhere, the Gambling Commission have published their consultation paper into In-Play betting. As all of my punting these days is conducted during whilst an event is taking place, any changes to UK legislation regarding this topic could seriously affect my ability to make profits. Should I be worried? . Have a read for yourself by clicking here. . Before you start to take a view, remember that in line with the Gambling Act 2005, the regulatory system has three objectives: . 1. To prevent gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder or being used to support crime. 2. To ensure that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way. 3. To protect children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling. . Okay, so now that's clear what does it mean? Basically the paper sets out to investigate the issues behind in-play gambling that could be seen to go against the 3 objectives stated above. It highlights the issues separately but the main concerns seem to revolve around the involvement of organised crime playing a part in match fixing and ensuring that punters are aware that they may not be playing on a level field. . What do I mean by the second comment? Well, from reading the report it appears that the commission are already very much aware that the use of betting software (bots, trading applications etc.) is becoming ever more popular and that individuals are doing whatever they can to source quicker feeds to live events. To me there doesn't appear to be a problem with either of these points (surely it's up to the punter to safeguard themselves as much as possible and accept the risk before placing a bet?) but I suppose they'll be asking the likes of Betfair to do more to make people aware that televised events can be delayed and that others are viewing the data in a different format. . It'll be interesting to see what comes of this - my only wish being that a common sense approach is taken. . P.S - As a footnote it's worth remembering that in 2006 thousands of Americans played online poker. Following the introduction of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act there's not so many of them around these days. . Whilst The Sun Shines...
Since Last Post P/L: £742.88 Monthly P/L: £1545.69 . My part time hours have now kicked in and I'm starting to wonder why I didn't make the switch sooner :-) Take today for example.
Sounds great eh? Seriously though, despite having a great couple of weeks I realise that the trading life cycle never travels in a smooth line so it's important I keep my feet on the ground and just keep plugging away. You'll see from my latest trading results that practically all of my involvement has centered on the Indian Premier League and as you may know, this tournament will come to an end at the beginning of June. But that's okay. It's good to rotate as 'sticking' to just the one format of one sport can become a little restrictive. Have a larger portfolio of events to fall back on is a sound move as not many sports are available to trade all year round. This isn't to say I think specialising isn't the best approach, I believe it is, but having some variety is also a great way of uncluttering the mind in an attempt to stay sharp providing you can still make money. . Here's a breakdown of what I've been up to since my last update: . Cricket Rajasthan v Deccan : £38.18 Chennai v Punjab : £102.07 Deccan v Kolkata : £159.14 Rajasthan v Delhi : £466.54 Punjab v Bangalore : £55.65 . Rugby Union Gloucester v Bath : £0.95 . Golf The Players Championship : £1.39 . So it's back to work tomorrow and I know it may seem a bit strange to say but I'm quite looking forward to it! Three days on and four days off seems the right balance to me and it'll be nice to catchup with everyone in the office. . Whether I'll still be saying this come tomorrow night remains to be seen! . Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These
Since Last Post P/L: £802.81 Monthly P/L: £802.81 . Okay, if you want to blog interactively then listen to this clip in another window. . I celebrated my 31st birthday on the weekend by going out for a meal to the Armless Dragon in Cardiff with Nicola and a few friends. The meal was ordinary, the service appalling but with good company we enjoyed the night. One things for sure though - I'm not as young as I used to be. Once upon a time I could guzzle gallons of lager and hardly feel a thing but after the equivalent of 6 or 7 pints I was ready for bed. How things have changed! . As usual I was spoilt rotten and one of the many presents I received was the book 'The Way Of The Warrior Trader' by Richard D. McCall. Despite only being half way through I can't put the bloody thing down! I remember it being recommended by a fellow blogger and after having a quick preview on Amazon discovered it touched on an outlook similar to mine and I haven't been disappointed. Only time will tell if the lessons pay dividends but I already feel much more content than I was 3 or 4 weeks ago. Controlling emotions and the psychological aspect of trading is so important so anything I can pick up that will help with this difficult topic has to be a step in the right direction. . Moving on....my full results for the week are: . Darts Wade v Part : £28.94 Van Barneveld v Jenkins : £58.15 . Cricket Bangalore v Deccan : £172.63 Mumbai v Delhi : £289.16 Bangalore v Punjab : £253.93 . There's no prizes for guessing that I'm over the moon with the way things have gone over the last few days. It seemed almost every trade I made went the right way and it got so ridiculous at one point that I was £350 up in the Bangalore v Punjab match within 4 minutes of the first innings! I'd got involved just before the fall of 2 quick Bangalore wickets and the rest they say is history (although you'll notice I did squander a £100 of this profit during the remainder of the match). After such a great start, it would seem May promises so much, but I've been down this path before. Acting with caution is the key but if I can continue to take small steps each day then who knows where I'll finish up. . The Deal
Since Last Post P/L: £530.66 Monthly P/L: £1326.94 . It seems like a lifetime ago but way back in this post I mentioned that I wouldn't look to make any withdrawals from my Betfair account until I'd accumulated a £10,000 trading bank. As I've now reached this total it's time to take stock and I can't let myself forget how important it's been to have Nicola's support along the way. Without her patience and understanding that I wasn't a drop kick who liked to gamble I wouldn't have been able to make it this far. The hours I've spent glued to the computer whilst she's been alone downstairs have always been accompanied by my shrieks that "I was doing this for us" but I'm not sure she 100% believed me. With this in mind it should therefore not surprise me that she now wants proof. I've hit the long awaited milestone and now she's very keen to cash in her chips and remind me of the deal that we made when I first started this trading odyssey - a monthly % of my winnings! . What could I do? What woman in their right mind would let their other half gamble as a hobby!?! I was desperate and in a moment of weakness agreed that I would withdraw 50% of any future winnings for our joint use after hitting the target. Naturally, now that I've managed the feat my instinct has been to horde my stash and to renegotiate. . It wasn't easy - she's a tough nut to crack is Nic - but I'm very pleased to say that we've now mutually agreed to reduce this figure to 20% under the guise that "I need money to make money". I believe this to be the truth but my suggestion of luxury villas and diamond bracelets may have sweetened the deal in my favour. . Oh bugger....I've gone and done it again....!!! . My full results for this week have been: . Darts Manley v Lewis : £16.73 Mardle v Taylor : £18.15 Van Barneveld v Wade : £29.05 . Motor Sport Spanish Grand Prix : £0.63 . Cricket Chennai v Kolkata : £223.69 Bangalore v Rajasthan : £360.37 Punjab v Delhi : £430.10 Mumbai v Deccan : £172.64 . Rugby Union London Irish v Toulouse : £41.86 Saracens v Munster : £77.40 Heineken Cup - Outright Winner : £11.00 . Some nice big green figures in there but I'm not too happy about some of the large red ones. My cricket trading has been good but I should have been able to control my losses much better so this is something I'm going to have to work on during the course of May. . Switching subjects - If you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know that until now I've traded part time due to having a full time career. Well, things are changing. My employer has given me the option to reduce my working hours and after a little deliberation (it really wasn't much!) I've decide | |
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