Monday, January 4, 2010

2010 - What should I do?

Happy New Year

The New Year has made me consider my part time trading in some depth. I feel my trading has reached a crossroads. Currently I have been trading for about 3 and a half years. I have dipped my toe into several different sports markets with mixed results. My main decision is whether my trading continues as a nice hobby that doesn't really make much money or I take this a little more serious to earn some decent extra cash. My initial thoughts would be to go with the latter however before when I have thought like that I have taken too many risks and ending up losing rather than making money.

To help my thoughts I have summarised my abilities in different markets.

American Football
My favourite sport to trade at the moment. I have a good knowledge of the sport that helps my decision making. I can regularly make 50-100% of my stake trading on Gridiron. The only downside is the timings of some of the games and the season is only 5 months long.

Horse Racing
I love these markets but they drive me crazy as well. My strike rate is about 75% and I feel confident in most markets. My biggest fault with these markets is trading too close to the off and having a bet taken just as the market closes then having to get out in-play. I could probably cure this by using take SP but I don't trust Betfair SP. Alternatively I could stop trading that bit sooner! Like many traders I feel I could be making so much more out of these markets but just can't seam to manage it. I also trade much better with a smaller bank e.g. I can usually make the same with a £250 bank as a £500 bank. I would also like to go back to working on a bot to make money while I am at work!

Football
I am usually very good at trading football. My only downfall is when I let a trade become influenced by my heart. I need to be more active in these markets as I could be making more from them. I have mainly traded the match odds markets at the moment and want to expand my repertoire by investigating the correct score market and Over/Unders markets.

Greyhounds
Limited experience. Similar to horses but much less liquidity. Think I will continue to give these a miss except maybe the televised races.

Cricket
Frustrating. I love the game of cricket and am very knowledgeable(I think!)but have suffered from some big losses. This stems from greed basically and using stakes that I was not comfortable with. I want to develop this in the next year.

Tennis
I am told the sport has huge potential but I haven't devoted enough time to the sport yet. I would like to learn more but am not sure I have the time this year.

Any other sports I have traded have usually been before the event. These usually generate small but stable returns.

The next few days look quiet so I will take a while to make my decision. I think that if I decided to make a real go of it I can make a decent amount but I have to be wary of putting too much pressure on myself.

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