Thrill Seeking

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The hot topic over at Cassini's excellent 'Green All Over' blog recently seems to be the ever-present thought for many - gambling on a full-time basis.  Let's get things straight - it's a mighty big step to take.  I can only speak from my experience when I say its' important to get the building blocks in place first.
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In case I've misled anyone in the past, I'll make it clear now that it's not a decision I took lightly.  Over the last 4 years I've re-invested winnings to build up a reasonable sized float and put enough aside to ensure that should any losing runs come I can manage for up to 12 months. I also reduced my outgoings wherever possible and cleared all of my outstanding debt, (bar my mortgage) to free me of any emotional baggage that could bring me down at the earliest opportunity.  It also helped to work out that by not going to the day job on a daily basis I would save £500+ a month by not having the need for a 2nd car.  The tax, insurance and petrol costs that go with it would vanish overnight.
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In addition, I also did a little SWOT Analysis to understand my current position.  My strengths were clear, I was making good profits and hadn't had a losing month.  My weaknesses?  Well, how would I react to being self-sufficient?  Would I crumble under the additional pressure?  These unknowns were certainly a weakness. However, the opportunities brought a smile to my face; I would have the opportunity to be my own boss, I would be able to see my family more, I would be in control of my own destiny and my earnings would be solely down to me.  I can't deny though that the threats weren't more of a concern.  Yes, Betting Exchanges might not be around forever, laws could change tomorrow and my edge might disappear, but as a trained Project Manager I took the decision that I had a path I could revert to if necessary. 
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Of course it's still early days, and it'll only be after 12 months of doing this that I think I'll feel totally comfortable in what I'm doing, but I'm not going to have any regrets now.  It would be a waste of everything I've done to get myself to this place.  This is the time for me to have fun.
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If you're in a similar position to where I was/am, all I can say is to make sure you have your bases covered and good luck!

After You

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After the first 10 matches of this years IPL an interesting statistic has formed with 8 of the teams batting 2nd going onto win.  When you consider that Twenty20 is a surprisingly even game, (with the average chances of winning when chasing a score hovering under 50%) it would seem that things are a little out of line.  Watch this space to see if the law of averages pulls us back to the norm, or is there a reason why this should be an advantage this season?
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From a personal viewpoint it's been a placid start and I'm yet to hit my straps.  Good news is there's 64 matches to go, and with approximately £8 million being matched on every 3 hour contest, that's plenty of time to move up a few gears.

End Of Quarter 1

The end of March sees the end of the 1st quarter of 2011 and at this point I always like to review my progress against what I achieved last year.  As some of you may recall, I took the jump into full-time sports gambling back in January so I'm pleased to report that I've been able to hold my own with my p&l improving by over 69% compared to the same period 12 months ago.

The extra time I've had to analyse and research has definitely helped whilst the Cricket World Cup provided a good vehicle for generating returns, so it's easy to start getting ahead of myself and think 'anything's possible'.  I'm fully aware however that the 2nd quarter has historically been my most critical time of the year so it was with relief that I heard the news that ITV have confirmed they'll be screening live IPL matches for the next 4 years.  I can't underestimate the importance of this as with 74 matches per season and with interest likely to be high, there'll be many opportunities to take advantage of.  The shape of the markets have changed over the last few years but for anyone new to betting on cricket it's an area you should look to explore.

Good luck if you do - just be cautious initially as the pace of the game is alot different to the 50 over equivalent we've been treated to over the last 2 months.