Unbelieveable

Things were going so well. In reading my previous entries I could see myself heading for a big fall. Well I got that wrong it was 2 big falls to be exact. It all began so well on Friday I traded the first race so well that I made my biggest profit for ages £64 greened up. I think that I suddenly thought that I was some big time trader and could just trade a race and make huge profits. I had that dangerous feeling of being invincible. The next race I traded I was in a small losing position before the off (about £10). For some reason (greed probably no definately) I decided not to red up before the off and put up a back bet to make a small profit. I then watched the race and the fav that I had layed was looking good and my bet had not been taken. So I decided to close my position. As soon as I had closed the position the favourite fell at the next fence. I briefly thought about what might have been and the fact that I could have won over £750 if I had let my lay run. Then to my horror I looked at the screen to see a big red £750 on all the remaining horses in the race. I stared in disbelief at first thinking that my software was playing up or I had gone completely mad. Then I realised what had happened. When I had closed my position I had used the stake button not the close position button. So I had left in my initial back bet of £750 that somebody with fast pictures quickly hovered up. I swore quite a lot at this point and switched off the computer (or something like that!)

By the next day I had regained my composure and thought I would carefully trade a few races. So in the first race I put a £250 back trade in just before the off of a race. I got briefly distracted before the off and wasn't watching the TV pictures then just as the race was about to start I went to close out my position and the horse had shot out from about 5.5 to 1000 before the off! It appears that the horse didn't want to race. So in less than 24 hours £1000 had disappeared from my account.

I have decided to take at least a week off from trading whilst I think what to do. Part of me wants to knock trading on the head with this double blow but the other part of me tells me I can do this. I only have to look back to last month and my recent trading to see that it is possible. I think I have fallen into the classic trap of being over-confident when things were going well and thinking I only had to put on a trade to make money. I became careless and got what I deserved because if it hadn't happened this week it would have been next week or the week after that because if you keep on taking chances you will get caught. Anyway I will give myself more time to think and make a decision by next week.