Experimenting

With the markets being a little mad around this time of year, It's given me a chance to experiment using different techniques and trying out things I haven't tried before. When i say this it's sounds as though I've being planning out secret methods over xmas that will make me more money in the future, then implementing them when I dabbled in the markets again. But I assure you this is not how I am improving as a trader. It has come from a natural process of being active in the market and experimenting new things while it's all happening live. Mistakes will come on the way, especially when you are upping your stakes and trying to reach new levels. If you have a very hands on approach to change like this, you can tackle subtle differences in new market conditions.

The real work and idea process of experimenting comes from a very practical side I believe. You can think all day of new strategies and approaches to make you your fortune, but you simply have to evolve your own trading styles whilst your actually trading. The markets are constantly changing and no one can try and predict with positive certainty what will happen. When your looking at the markets day-in day-out, your brain picks up on slight changes in the market. Such as recent trends and adapting to how new players choose to behave. My advice is to not think too much about your trading style/methods/ideas or however choose to word it. Try and tune in more with your subconscious while your trading and really listen to your instincts. I'm beginning to get more aggressive in the markets and it's paying off for me, although I'm still taking some big losses on the way.

Week's Analysis

I started off on Tuesday this week and it was the first time I had a proper dabble in the markets in weeks. I was amazed to have such a good day on the Tuesday and my new found aggression seemed to work in my favour.

My discipline let me down at crucial times on the following few days which led to poor decision making and over trading. If your head isn't 100% focused when the markets are a bit twitchy, then small errors turn into large losses surprisingly fast. Ask yourself what you could have done differently if you could replay the day over? Address the issues where the losses came from, try and understand what went wrong and how you can change your style into stopping these mistakes happening again. I know exactly what I've done wrong if I've struggled on the day, and if you're willing to evolve you have a great chance of succeeding on Betfair. Camtasia is awesome! Record and watch everything back, you can't hide behind excuses when its staring back at you in your face :) Saturday came with a boom, but it was far from straight forward. I started terrribly and tried a bit too hard early on forcing a few positions which didn't go as expected. But an hour later i turned a -230 into a +230 on the day which was boosted my confidence.

Antepost

Saturday was a solid day's trading and it gave us all a chance to see some of the Cheltenham hopefuls. 1 of the horses I really like and I've been very impressed since seeing it run around 4 races ago is a horse named Diamond Harry. I have been looking to back this for a Cheltenham race for a while now, so when I saw it going for a chase debut I had to back it antepost for the RSA chase at 14.0. To me this was a great trading opportunity that was almost certain to shorten after an impressive jumping performance. This horse I believe could be something special so keep an eye out, and I think he's more physically suited to chasing rather than hurdling.

My antepost selections have worked out great this year for Cheltenham and I can't wait for March now. Big Bucks will take the world of beating in the World Hurdle and I was fortunate to get a tidy £500 on at 2.2 a few races ago. I might be very tempted to leave it all on, even though this was not my intention when I placed the bet.

This week's p/l from Tues-Sat:

Trading Courses

I'm really looking forward to getting back to teaching after my time off over xmas, and the first course of 2010 starts on Tuesday for 3 days.

I have had a lot of interest over the coming few months and to make it easier for all I wanted to set up specific dates I can teach groups.

I am still offering other packages, for instance if you wanted to come out to Madrid with a few mates or even a 1-1 course. But these types of courses will have to be booked up on certain dates when I'm free. Simply offer some dates and we can sort something out.

The dates are as follows for the organised group packages:

Fully Booked up until -

February -
23rd - 27th

5 - day course: 2 spaces available

March -
2nd - 4th

3 - day course: 3 spaces available

23rd - 27th

6 - day course: 3 spaces available

April -
1st - 6th

6 - day course: 2 spaces available

28th - 30th

3 - day course: 3 spaces available

May -
10th - 15th

6 - day course: 3 spaces available

25th - 27th

3 - day course: 3 spaces available

I have to stress that although there are most of the spaces still available. Many people have shown an interest and could be booking up on all courses over the next few weeks. I am only reserving the spot when the course is fully booked with me. I am filling up my packages very quick so feel feel free to reserve a spot.

Many thanks

Back In Madrid!

2010 here we go! Happy New Year to all (a bit belated agreed) and apologies for being a little quiet on the blog and the emails recently. I promise to get back to everyone who has sent me an email over the last few weeks after this blog post. So expect a reply by the end of the day :)

First I'd like to thank everyone for showing an interest in my courses, or simply enjoying the read of the blog. I'm not going anywhere in a hurry and plan to help as many budding traders as I can in years to come. I have a few ideas lined up this year which I'll announce nearer the time and as the interest has come mainly from the UK, I have made rough plans to move back to London come the start of 2011 :)

Little Break

I've taken some much needed time off from the world of trading, and trust me from late Dec - late Jan is the best time of year to take it. Regardless if we have crazy amounts of snow on the ground or not. It's been a great time catching up with friends and family but time for me to get back to it. As a full-time trader you have to look at the year like a marathon, and be willing to fight through the tricky times to be rewarded when the good times come around again. From late Dec - end of Feb Is without a doubt the trickiest time of year to trade, and it's mainly down to the weather. I wished to see snow when I arrived back in the UK and wow I was not disappointed! I saw it everyday I was in the country haha! Crazy indeed and it's completely thrown the markets out of sync. I'm gonna be careful what I wish for in future!

You have to know when to immerse yourself in the markets though, and know when to take a step back from them. Everyone who has traded even a few weeks on the markets, quickly realise it grabs u by the balls and leaves you wanting more. A kind of addictive game of wits and money where your in a constant battle with yourself to improve. But having time off is a massive part of being a consistent winner on Betfair. Go and jump off a bridge with a bungee strapped to your ankles, go and swim with dolphins or simply sit in front of the box watching back to back films sipping on 10 cups of tea. It really doesn't matter what you do, just enjoy it! But don't beat yourself up about taking some time off, you will thank yourself when your trading 7-8 hours a day in summer when there's an overload of opportunities. Ask yourself this....would you prefer a job where you don't have a choice if you work or not?

All About The Money?

When you first start learning the black art of trading, it's all about money money money. But ask yourself what you want the money for? My goal is to make money for a life of freedom and enjoyment. So really the true benefit trading has given me is being able to experience life as I choose to live it, and long let this continue. We are trained from a young age to search for a safe, secure job offering a nice pay-check at the end of the month. Without realising you are numbing your thought process in looking for freedom, flexibility, and new sources of wealth. As human beings we are scared of failure and this forces us to search for security. So in turn we live below our means and live by the pay-check we have worked so hard for. But working crazy hours a day we don't have the time or energy to enjoy it. As consumers, when we get a pay rise all we do is spend more and wonder why we never have any spare money...and the viscous circle continues. This is called the rat race, and over 95% of the population is in this system. But instead of thinking 'oh this is just how it is, think how can I get out of this'. Trading is 1 alternative and there are many more, so I hope you see where I'm trying to go with this. It's not the search of more and more money that is important, it's how the money you make changes your life for the better.

This time of year is a time to remind yourself why you are a trader, or why you want to become one. As its the drive inside you that makes us successful, not how long it takes or how many losses you occur in the process. You have to find your own drive that will keep you going and ultimately make u prosper in this competitive game of trading. For me it was the drive for freedom that led to my success, and it's still the drive that keeps me going today. Having the flexibility to do what I want, when I want to do it is so important to me. I hope all that are learning can look beyond the potential monetary gains, and seek another drive within them that will make 2010 a fulfilling and enjoyable year.

Bring It On!

After a long break away from the markets I'm itching to get back to it all. Gonna have a look at 2moro's card and fingers crossed I'll see some kind of action to get my teeth into. I plan to take it very slow and probably will drop my stakes down a bit. I'll be very patient and won't expect much from the remaining week. See how it goes though and I'll do an update after Saturday's card. Now's the perfect time to expand your trading into other ideas and plans for the coming year. Mine will be trying out the tennis which should be fun, although I need to get Sky sorted out before I tackle the tennis madness :)

Other Blogs

In the world of blogging, we are always going to have people come and go, and we've lost some good ones unfortunately. But I've noticed so many new blogs appear in the last few months which is great to see! I think there's a mini buzz around trading in general even though the weather has taken some joy out of things of late. So if anyone wants to be added to my blog links simply send me a request and I'll happily add anyone. A lot of mine on my list haven't updated in a while so please feel free to get in touch.

Please check back over the last few comments made on earlier posts. I've responded to them all. Many thanks!

Stay positive, its the calm before the storm :)