A Bridge Too Far

Since Last Post P/L: £45.65

Monthly P/L: £2,805.80

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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.
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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? :-)
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Here are my final trading results for May:
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Cricket
Rajasthan v Mumbai : £41.33
Deccan v Chennai : £149.29
Punjab v Rajasthan : £48.16
Chennai v Punjab : £44.02
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Darts
Taylor v Lewis : £21.82
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Rugby Union

Wasps v Leicester : £8.05
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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.
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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!
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In a nutshell, my profit & loss breakdown for the month is as follows:
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Monthly Profit : £2,805.80
Golden Handshake to Nic : £561.16
Total to Re-invest into Trading Bank : £2,244.64
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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.

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Becoming A Bot

Since Last Post P/L: £551.20
Monthly P/L: £2851.45

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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.

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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.

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Here's my results for the last week:

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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

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Rugby Union

Heineken Cup - Outright Winner : £35.30

Munster v Toulouse : £43.51

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Special Bets

Eurovision Song Contest : £11.00

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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!

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Not Counting Chickens

Since Last Post P/L: £754.56
Monthly P/L: £2300.25

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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?!?

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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.

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Here's a list of my recent results:
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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
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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?
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Have a read for yourself by clicking here.
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Before you start to take a view, remember that in line with the Gambling Act 2005, the regulatory system has three objectives:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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It'll be interesting to see what comes of this - my only wish being that a common sense approach is taken.
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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.
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Whilst The Sun Shines...

Since Last Post P/L: £742.88

Monthly P/L: £1545.69

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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.

• 8am - Got up and went to the gym (I joined on Friday - healthy body makes for a healthy mind and all that).
• 11am - Took Caden around to his Nan's as he's staying there tonight.
• 12pm - Decided it'd be nice for myself and Nic to go to Alfred's in Pontypridd for a spot of lunch - it's very good.
• 2pm - Got back home and had a nap.
• 3pm - Woke up to trade the cricket.
• 6pm - Hung up the mouse and knocked off the computer.

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.

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Here's a breakdown of what I've been up to since my last update:

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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

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Rugby Union

Gloucester v Bath : £0.95

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Golf

The Players Championship : £1.39

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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.

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Whether I'll still be saying this come tomorrow night remains to be seen!

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Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These

Since Last Post P/L: £802.81
Monthly P/L: £802.81

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Okay, if you want to blog interactively then listen to this clip in another window.

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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!

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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.

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Moving on....my full results for the week are:

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Darts

Wade v Part : £28.94

Van Barneveld v Jenkins : £58.15

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Cricket

Bangalore v Deccan : £172.63

Mumbai v Delhi : £289.16

Bangalore v Punjab : £253.93

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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.

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