Appears simple but is devilishly difficult.

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Lammtarra
Posts: 74
Joined: Sat Jun 29, 2013 12:16 pm

Using my kindle from home but just so you`re aware, the internet is down at work with an external fault. its being dealt with now but dont know when i can next trade.

tomorrow is going to be hell.....
Lammtarra
Posts: 74
Joined: Sat Jun 29, 2013 12:16 pm

Went to work yesterday knowing that the net was down and a bit annoyed as it was decent racing and I couldn't trade when all of a sudden.........ding! it worked so I was able to do my stuff.......

Firstly, I got lucky Friday night (trading, not with a chick) :lol:

I want to get into football trading and have played at it over the last 2 years winning some, losing more, giving up, rinse and repeat......

This time I've decided that I am slowly starting to turn the corner on the horses and don't want to over trade or over commit my bank or simply get involved with something I don't understand and whilst I can imagine many of you grimacing at this, I like the idea of LTD.

I have a view rightly or wrongly that every stratagy has a suitable match or race and as a professional trader, it would be my job to pair them up. I have decided that with carefull match selection and a plan as to what do if this happens or that happens, I will try it gently, so I have.

I started this on Friday night with the Boro V QPR match :o Layed it to £5 and waited. Had a stinking cold and went to bed knackered at 8.30pm with the match on my Ipad, I was really, really tired and the match was approaching half time at 0-0, you can guess what happened....

I heard my Ipad hit the floor in the night and still didn't respond, I was out of it. My first thought yesterday morning was "wasn't I doing something with football last night? and then I remembered Oh Shit I didn't trade out. D***, F***, T***, B*****X let me see what happened please please please go my way for once, and it did - 93rd min penalty. 8-) Poor form I know but I'll take that, I'd have only lost £15 or so but that's not the point.

I made a right mess of the silviano conti, cue card race and was bloody annoyed because I had called it right first time and this is something I've got to work on with my trading. I lay a horse which I think is going to drift for it come in a bit, I decide I've got it wrong and get out and then 2 mins later it's drifting like a bitch. I didn't lose any money but could have won some there that's for sure.

So going into this week my bank is now £249.14 and I'm now adding football to my plan but only gently. Done three matches yesterday all to a fiver and took a hit on one, won almost my whole stake on one and won a few pence on the other so not bad.

This time though, I am going to trade out, like I do on the horses for a red if I have to. I've always done this with good intentions which descend to just hoping and praying like risking £1200 on the Madrid game in the Champions League.

It's no good for my nerves and I'm not risking my bank like it anymore.

I'll keep you posted...
ewgrhr
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2015 7:33 am

I think you will benefit from going to a tony robbins event.
www.casesam.co.uk
Xperia z5 cover
Last edited by ewgrhr on Mon Nov 30, 2015 2:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
Lammtarra
Posts: 74
Joined: Sat Jun 29, 2013 12:16 pm

Disaster..................it was all going so well until Wednesday as well.

To save writing a thousand words, I'll put it very bluntly.

Started trading on Wednesday, had a good Sat and Mon and Tue, looked forward to Wednesdays trading so started on first race, trade went against me, got out, went back in got in wrong again, went back in again and my red increased and increased and in the space of 10mins, had gone from calm and focused to angry and fearful because the red was far, far too big. £40 on a £260 bank in 1 trade.

I spent the rest of the week chasing it and on Sat got to within a few quid (literally) of my £260 and went just one more time.....and lost and lost again.

My bank is now £141.50.

I had pondered with the idea of:
1 - Keep chasing it and hoping
2 - Put more money in and just make up the difference
3 - Stop chasing and start of the revised figure.

I was close to sticking £600 on Klitschko to win back my loss but I luckily came to my senses and accepted my loss to that point and didn't bother with the boxing.

I know I'll never win if I don't handle losses properly and that's why I didn't do it.

I am surprisingly calm and have accepted what I've done as a setback but nothing more. I had made good progress mentally in the last month and really started to think that I had outgrown the not accepting a loss thing.

It just shows that it's just under surface and is still there. I've come a long way though and I'm not going to let those few days of stupidity reverse all the progress I've made.

I can pay money in whenever I like but am not going to throw good money after bad, I think that when I reach £1,000, I might put a couple of hundred in as a "boost" but only when I've proved I can trade clean for a sustained period of time.

It's put me back 6 weeks or so in real terms so not the end of the world.
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LeTiss
Posts: 5386
Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 6:04 pm

The original red trade you had, I suspect was due to overstaking on that selection's price. You then made reckless trades to recover your position

The mistakes you're making are the same mistakes many make. The ones who fail though, are the ones that cannot escape that rush of blood. The ones who succeed, are the the traders that manage to stay disciplined and emotionally in control

You clearly still have many hurdles to jump before you start hitting the tape
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Dallas
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Dont think there is anything to say that has nt already been said many times here by several people.

What i would say is ask yourself what was so different about wednesday's trade that you could nt cut your loses the way you have been the last few weeks?

DONT top your balance back up otherwise you definetly wont learn from this and you will be more likely to repeat it if you just keep pluggin your account with top-ups when it goes wrong.
Just forget the £260 completly your bank is £141.50 build on that the way you have been doing!
marko236
Posts: 737
Joined: Fri Jul 12, 2013 11:54 am

Reading through this tread you are a mirror image of what i done in the past, look at all your past winning trades lets say your avarage win is £2 you have to look at what you can afford to lose per market to end up with a profit long run which in most stratagies will be less than what you win.

Set your losses and accept them when they happen, we all have losing trades.
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Kai
Posts: 6173
Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2015 12:21 pm

May I suggest you focus more on the technical side of trading rather than on the psychology behind it? Same goes for this thread, you never give any technical details behind what you're trying to do, you only talk about how it made you feel etc. I think you generalize a lot of things but you already know that the devil is in the details. If you generalize everything you write in this thread you can only get generalized advice as well, and that is simply not enough for most people to find success.

I don't know if anyone would agree but I honestly believe that you can solve these types of issues with a strong enough edge on the markets themselves. Solely focusing on your discipline may be a completely wrong approach if your edge is still weak, if that makes sense. An edge is strong only if it can cover your various mistakes and the occasional lapse in discipline.

It may be the complete opposite of what most other traders will tell you but I think that you should first look to master the markets before even attempting to master your own mind. Because ask yourself what is easier to do, obtaining knowledge and experience on the markets or completely changing the wiring in your brain and getting rid of gambling habits. I honestly don't even know if it's possible for someone to obtain a proper trader's mindset without having a good edge on the markets first.

So why not focus more on the technical side of things, you really don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand horse racing markets, there's more than enough material out there that almost spoonfeeds you the information needed to succeed, all you really need to do is absorb that information so that you can start using it yourself. For example, if you are able to spot genuine money in general then you should do quite well, some traders like Caan pretty much use that signal alone for their entries. Or if you're more mechanicaly inclined you can simply scalp most of the handicap races during the day and grind the profit out that way, the big meetings especially. Or you can follow the obvious trends on maidens, if they have room and time to develop then that's all the signal that you need for entry, especially if you can find an "outside" reason for that trend. Or you can use various outside influences and live video to gain almost "free" ticks. Because reading the market is a skill after all, which means that it can be practiced to a very good degree. An over-simplified answer would be to back strong runners and lay weak ones, or in other words just go with the flow and with the public (trader) opinion. But if you really want to be in control of the market, well as much as it's possible to be in control, you need a lot of technical knowledge about market dynamics, such as resist/support/crossover points and how they influence price movement, you need to understand market noise and book slack, differentiate genuine from spoof money, and if possible be aware of any prior outside influences that could move the price or real time outside influences from live video. All those things need to be taken into account when reading the market, along with time to post, type of race, any public opinion etc. But the good thing about trading is that you don't really need to do all of the above to actually profit from horse racing, you can simply focus on one thing and if you do that thing really well then you should be just fine.

This is all generalized advice yet again, but if you want specific advice from people then you should provide specific details about your trades, mistakes etc. You're writing long posts but you're not really saying much about your actual trading.
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Dallas
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Lammtarra wrote:I was close to sticking £600 on Klitschko to win back my loss but I luckily came to my senses and accepted my loss to that point and didn't bother with the boxing.

I know I'll never win if I don't handle losses properly and that's why I didn't do it.
Have you considered using some of the £600 you come close to blowing on Klitschko and going on one of peters course's?
Lammtarra
Posts: 74
Joined: Sat Jun 29, 2013 12:16 pm

Thanks for your input everyone.

Dallas and Letiss you are spot on. I over staked on the opening trade and whilst I initially took the small red, for some reason, I didn't want to lose that day? I refused to accept what I was seeing and tried to force it my way.

I have been doing well recently by staking more but having a get out point whatever that maybe. So for instance if my bank was £200 and I'm staking 5% so £10, I am meant to be using no more than 10% in any one trade so I might click once and if it goes my way and appears to be continuing, I'll click again.

What I've been doing recently is waiting for the signs so easy example, the favorite is 3.4 and appears weak, the 2nd and 3rd favorites are both coming in, I become convinced that the favorite will drift so I might put 6 clicks or more on it go out.
Sometimes I might have 80% of my bank on a selection but I do, and have many times cut out quick if it reverses. I have to take the red then because losses would be out of control in an instant. Obviously when I'm right, I'm winning more than I would be normally so I kind of overstake on "good" moves and stake normally on the rest if that makes sense?

On the first trade I done, I didn't even go crazy I just staked the 5% or 10%, I think it was just me "expecting" to win today and thinking I've sussed it at long last. Got a rude awakening when I saw the mess I'd got in and that just made it worse.

Kai, I think when all is said and done, it's the same issue with me from the start and in pretty much anything in life - I don't like losing. I did finally come to my senses after 20 years and stopped punting on the horses because I was sick to death of losing and seeing a horse with 12lb in hand get turned over in a 4 runner claimer. I know it's obvious now but back then, I'd be all over something like that.

When I think about it carefully, the thing that hurts the most believe it or not, is going home after a days trading with less money than I started. That feels like a dagger in my heart to me. To be honest, even going home with a profit is not good enough if that profit would have been more.

Imagine for instance I'd spent all day trading and on my £200 bank I'd traded 15 races and won small amounts on 10 of them, I'd had 2 losses and 3 scratch trades, my total profit for the day was £7 which I'd be pleased with nornmally. I trade one more race, the 4.30 somewhere and I get it wrong initially so get out, re-assess and go in again, I get it wrong again and get out again. The crucial point is now. I've lost money albeit small amount but I will invariably go again with a view to scratch the trade or really reduce my small loss, if this goes wrong then what?
If I won £7 and lost £5 on the last race I'd be absolutley gutted and would be in so much mental anguish over what I'd done, it'd prob push me to chase, even though I haven't actually lost money on the day.

That's my failure, it come back to the old chestnut of losing money and refusing to accept.

Letiss is on the money when he mentions controlling the rush of blood to head. I can prepare all morning for trading, mentally telling myself what I'm going to do, when I'm going to trade out etc etc and then just one millisecond later in the afternoon, a situation could occure where I haven't got out quick enough and even if my loss isn't a big one like in the last example, imagine it was £2.80, NOW I have a rush of blood and am in an uncomfortable position mentally. My overiding feeling now is ANGER and as I saw on Sat, this is dangerous and will sonner or later result in a wipeout or significant drawdown.

Next time something happens, I'll explain it in detail so you can see because I do generalise a lot.

Dallas, I'd love to go on Peters course but at the moment it would cause a giant domestic at home because it's gambling again according to my other half. After the years of p****** money away I've done, she has zero confidence in me trading and I've just let it go at the moment. I will go though for sure.

This has gone beyond something that's difficult or hard work, it's now a personal mission for me like someone who climbs Everest or runs a sub 3hr LOndon Marathon.

If I win 50p a day and it takes me 5 years, I am going to get to my £1000 to prove to myself I can do it.
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LeTiss
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Overstaking was my problem early doors, possibly due to me having been a punter before I arrived here

I combated this problem by making my trading all about ticks after greening, as opposed to money.

Therefore, I calculted all my stakes on what I wanted to target per tick on each trade

Example, if I was aiming for £1 after greening - backing a 1.80 shot would be £180, laying a 1.80 shot would see a liability of £144.80. Backing a 3.55 gave me stakes of £71, laying gave me a liability of £183.60

I wouldn't be here now, if I hadn't done this - why?

Everytime I lost a trade, I found it easier to lock out and recover emotionally and mentally. It meant that losing 4 ticks wasn't so bad, as rather than trying to win 'x' amount, I only needed 4 ticks instead. Gradually, due to me becoming more emotionally calm and targeting ticks rather than money - the money just followed automatically. As my bank increased, so did my tick sizes, but I always felt in control

I've asked Peter many times to include 'Tick size with greening' on the dropdown staking plan, but for some reason he thinks it's a shit idea, but I beg to differ......like I say I wouldn't be here now if I hadn't changed that approach
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Kai
Posts: 6173
Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2015 12:21 pm

It's good that you provided more details but sorry to say that you sound like an emotional wreck after that last post. I know how emotionally draining trading can be when you're starting out and you are clearly desperate to succeed, but such outpour of emotion on such small stakes is a clear sign that you personalize every trade and every loss, if you go on an emotional rollercoaster ride every day with small stakes I'm not sure how that's gonna look like with bigger stakes. Despite all the advice from various people you still lack real focus (imho), you're still just tunneling on the money itself, whilst you should be focusing on executing the best possible trades and the money will eventually come on it's own as a direct result of that. Just like LeTiss said, focus on the ticks intead of the money itself, same principle.

Forgot to say in my last post that I know a couple of full timers from my area that definitely do not have a trader's mindset and they openly admit it, they make massive blunders on a regular basis, chase losses, leave a trade open as a bet when they get fed up etc, but despite all of that they still come out heavily on top at the end because their edge is strong. That was my whole point in case you missed it, the stronger your edge the weaker your mindset "can" be and vice versa.

Btw if your SO is not supportive try and use that as motivation instead of a hindrance, it would feel great if you proved her wrong once and for all.
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Dallas
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With your state of mind the way it is over losses has have you tried reading some books? not necessarily on sports trading directly but on getting into the right frame of mind and the psychology needed to accept losses and succeed.

There are some good ones through this thread you might want to add to your xmas list
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=78&hilit=new+books

or a quick search on google will point you in the right direction.
Lammtarra
Posts: 74
Joined: Sat Jun 29, 2013 12:16 pm

Letiss, I like the idea of setting the tick size so I will try that approach this week. It makes sense as well and takes the £££££ targets and goals out of the equation.
I just haven't done it before because I suppose it's easier to stick to what your familiar with.....It could be of course, that I'm just in my default position of trying to win as much as possible in the shortest time with the least effort? Sticking 80% of my bank on a horse is one way to do that I guess. Comes at a cost though......

Kai, your right what you say about my focus or lack of. It is only on the money rather than the actual trading that provides the money. I used to say to my personal trainer how am I going to run quicker, he said don't worry about the time, just keep the running up and the time will look after itself. Along similar lines to this really, good, clean trading, sensible money management and the money will look after itself.

Maybe it sounded worse than it was and portrayed me to be an emotional wreck but I'm perfectly normal. Maybe in the same way an alcoholic is adamant they don't need the drink.
I think it's clear with all the evidence so far that I have a low pain threshold or more specifically a low level of tolerance which needs working on.

Dallas, no I haven't bothered with this I'm ashamed to say. I've watched a Mark Douglas thing on Youtube for 6 hours or so but not really read books.
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Dallas
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If you have nt read any i would strongly advise you check the thread i sent last message and read some that focus on the mindset and are aimed the the areas you are struggling with.

Never under estimate how much the right book/s can change your whole outlook especially with things like banks, money, risk etc
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